Numbers 13:31-33

A/N: Okay I'm sorry, I know I said it would take me a while to write this next chapter, but I never expected it would take me so long. Its just I've had so much to do since last August, and pretty much no time what so ever to write. So I'm afraid it took longer than I ever dreamed, but here it is. I just hope there are a few people left who still remember it.

Well any way, I hope you enjoy this chapter, before you start, let me say be prepared for a few shocks and a few sad moments. I hope it all works, as I know I promised you would probably enjoy the next act of this tale. Well here's its first chapter, have fun.

Chapter Seventeen: Clipped

Slowly Leonard looked down at his watch, 5:45 Am. Another fifteen minutes then he could wake Howard for his watch and finally get some sleep himself. Looking back, Leonard once again saw his friends lying there; they were all asleep now, except Amy. She still partially lay there by Sheldon's side, too tired to stand, but unwilling to sleep in case Sheldon awoke. Unable to do any more than silently watch him.

As Leonard looked he couldn't help but think how lucky Sheldon was to have Amy, she was lucky to have him to, but still. Leonard shook his head, before letting out a sad sigh. Poor Sheldon, he had been unconscious since he crashed into that lake almost two days ago now. Leonard's shoulders still hurt from when they had had to carry him onto the bank and then into the outskirts of town. Thankfully they had found this abandoned warehouse, laid him down on an old table and crashed for the night to sleep.

None of them had had any idea what they were going to do to help him though. They had all fallen asleep hoping that when they awoke the next morning they would have found his wings had simply grown back during the night and him complaining about the pain or something. But no such luck, he was still unconscious when they awoke, his wings were still gone and the burn marks were just as bad as they had been the night before.

It chilled Leonard to the core as he thought about that, poor Sheldon. Over the last few months he had seen his poor friend left bleeding, beaten senseless and nearly broken in two. But this, this was different, this was much worse. He had literally had both of his wings burnt off him while in mid-flight. What that must have felt like? What had the effects of it done to him? What would they do?

Leonard looked on at his wounded friend, after all he had done to save them, he had won the battle, but now it looked like his wounds would kill him. Leonard had kept telling himself that this was silly, after all he wasn't go to die, the demons didn't want him dead, so why would they do something to him that would kill him? It didn't make sense.

And yet as looked a Sheldon lying there, his face pale and still contorted into that horrible shade of agony. He honestly was having trouble believing his friend would survive. What would happen if Sheldon died? Would they still need to run or would the demons just cut their losses and leave? Even if they did, could they really go back to their lives after all this?

He was a physicist, a man who had dedicated his life to examining the mysteries of existence its self, to help purge the world of superstition. Now he had seen Demons, and spells, and blood rituals, and wings and so so many blatant disregards for the very laws he had dedicated his life to supporting. How could he go back to his life after all this? How could he hope it would be the same?

Once again Leonard forced himself to clear such thoughts from his mind. This was silly he told himself. Sheldon won't die, he'll recover and then they would all just go back to the running until they were safe. After all he had already survived so much, this was just another hurdle. He was going to make it; he would make it…right?

Amy lay there staring at her sleeping boyfriend; it was difficult to look at him he looked like he was in so much pain. But Amy knew she couldn't bring herself to look away. Amy couldn't help but wonder how Sheldon would feel about them lying so close to each other. Slowly she reached out her hand and brushed it over his bare chest. They had slept right next to each other back in New Mexico, but that was only to keep her from getting cold, right?

Groaning Amy knew she couldn't sleep, it didn't matter how heavy her eye lids felt, she had to stay awake, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't sl…

Amy looked around she was back in Pasadena, standing in the corridor outside Sheldon's apartment. Looking around in confusion it was then she heard the sound, it was Sheldon, she could hear him speaking from inside.

"Yeah, there are so many of my favourite things that I can think off just off the top of my head, Leonard."

"Yeah, like what?"

Amy paused unsure, she didn't know if she should listen to this, but temptation was too much, she had to know where on the list she came.

"You know, there is: Star Trek, Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Matrix, Doctor Who, Video games, Halo night, mystical card games. Oh and…"

As Sheldon carried on talking, listing multiple objects and children's toys, Amy couldn't help but feel a bit disheartened that she hadn't come up yet. Still she decided to keep on listening; she pressed her head closer to the door. It occurred to her that it had never struck her just how big this door actually was.

Sheldon was still going on "And then of course there all great people I admire, like The Flash, My mother, Superman, Meemaw, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America…" still no mention of her. Amy shuffled even closer to the door. "And of course there is the great Stephen Hawking, I think that's everything."

Amy jerked backwards. 'Everything?' But he hadn't mentioned her.

"Everything? But Sheldon you haven't mentioned any of your friends?"

Amy was relieved, now she would surely come up.

"Ah, yes of course. Well naturally there is you, Leonard my best and first friend. Then there is Penny, Bernadette, Raj, Stuart, Zack, and of course Wolowitz."

Amy blinked, but he hadn't said anything about her? Where was she? He couldn't have forgotten? He was biologically incapable of forgetting. What about her? Amy pressed herself against the door she had to hear the end of this conversation. In her fluster she failed to notice that her head was now barely above the doorknob.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting someone, Sheldon?"

"No I don't think so?"

"What not a certain person whose opinion you hold quite highly? Someone who means a lot to you? Perhaps a certain woman who you are quite fond of?"

"But of course, how could I forget?"

Amy pulled back,' yes, yes' he had finally gotten to her.

"After all and I hope you don't mind me saying this but she is smartest and personally my favourite woman on the known planet that I know of."

'Yes, yes, finally!'

"Of course there is always going to be your mother, Beverly."

Amy's eyes opened wide, 'Who? What? No not her? Leonard's mother! Why wasn't he remembering her? Even if she wasn't his favourite person, surely she had left some impact on his life. She was his girlfriend. Why couldn't he remember her?' She wanted to burst in, to talk to him, to get him to remember. She had to get him to remember!

But it was then she suddenly realised how much bigger the door was. She had been so caught up in their conversation, she hadn't realised she was shrinking. 'Shrinking?' No, no, this was silly, that was impossible. But then what else could it be, why was everything around her so big? Looking at herself Amy guessed she was presently somewhere around three feet tall.

She tried to cry out but no sound came from her open mouth. She couldn't talk. She tried to run away, but her limbs were frozen in place. She couldn't move. She couldn't even blink. Amy was trapped in place. And she hadn't stopped shrinking.

"But Sheldon, what about your girlfriend?"

The conversation was continuing, maybe if he could remember her, it might undo this.

"Who?"

'No, come on Sheldon, come on, remember me remember me.' Amy was practically crying now, but she was unable to make a single sound. In her head she was screaming 'Remember me'.

"You know Amy."

'Yes, yes, yes he was there.'

"Amy? Amy? Amy…"

'No, no, please Sheldon, come remember me, I'm not that forgettable. Please, remember me.'

"Oh, Amy."

'Yes! Finally!'

"No, I don't think she belongs on that list at all."

'Wait what?'

"In fact I would honestly put her on my least favourite list. Somewhere near the bottom."

'No, no, it couldn't be true.'

"Just between you and me Leonard, honestly I practically hate her. That whinny, needy, pushy, annoying, ugly, stupid, horse-faced bore."

Amy was now in tears, this couldn't be happening she told herself, he would never say such horrible things about her. He cared about her.

"I really really don't care for or about her. I don't know what form of temporary insanity possessed me to want to spend time with her in the first place. But really and truly I wish I had sooner shot myself."

'No…no… 'Amy didn't even notice the fact she was still getting smaller, she was down to mere inches now, but she didn't care. All that hit her was his harsh words. How could he say such horrible things about her? This couldn't be happening, it couldn't!

"Still it's not all bad…"

'Yes, yes was this some sort of silver lining?'

"After all I get a lot laughing done afterwards, while I think about that lonely freak actually believing I care about her. I think I'll wait till her birthday before I breakup with her. I'll book us a reservation at fancy hotel. Get us a beautiful room, have everything just perfect, take her out to dinner, have a wonderful time. And then tell her to arrive early and wait for me in bed. Then I'll just not turn up. I wonder how long it will be before she realises the truth. I just wish I could be there to see her cry." And with that he began loudly laughing.

This was too much, Amy fell to her knee's sobbing. She didn't even notice she was now less than an inch tall. How could he say such terrible things about? It couldn't be true! It just couldn't! Suddenly the doorway opened and looking up Amy saw Sheldon was standing there. He was huge. His enormous feet appeared above, Amy tried to scream, but it was too late. Her vision turned back as she consumed by his giant heel.

"Amy?" Bernadette said softly.

Amy opened her eyes, she was still in the corridor but Sheldon had gone and she was back to normal height. Bernadette stood there in the stairway staring.

"This is what you dream about?"

Amy couldn't even process the sentence, she outright burst into tears.

"Oh Amy," Bernadette rushed over and took her friend by the hand, "here come with me."

She led Amy down the stairs, and suddenly they were in Bernadette's apartment. "Here sit down I'll make you some tea."

Amy nodded and complied, Bernadette returned and handed her a cup. "Here drink, it will make you feel better."

Amy did, and Bernadette joined her. She was right it did make her feel a little bit better; it was a very good cup of tea.

"It should be it's from a pretty good memory."

"Bernadette, how could say such horrible things about me?" Amy asked, she had stopped balling by this point, but she was still on the verge of sobbing. "It doesn't make any sense, he would never be that unkind. I know he wouldn't. He just couldn't be."

"Because he didn't, Amy, Amy you've got to listen to me, this is just a dream. You're having a nightmare."

Amy looked up, "What?"

"All this isn't real. Think for a moment, you're a genius, think about this. Is there any logic to what occurred?"

And for the first time, Amy did think. She thought about every detail she had encountered since this had begun and finally she spoke "This is just a dream?"

"Yes, it's all only a dream."

"So you're just my dream to?"

"No, no, I'm real; I was having my own dream, then I heard you crying and came to look."

"But how are you in my dream?"

"We touched souls; I guess connected dreams aren't any more implausible then emotional, physical and mental connections."

"But I thought that had worn off."

"So did I, I guess your strong emotional state awoke what was left of the connection."

Bernadette put down her drink, and turned so her full attention was towards her friend. "Amy what was that back there? What kind of nightmares do you have?"

"Lots," Amy sighed, she hung her head slightly, "I'm prone to night terrors so I have a lot of nightmares. Mostly bad memories I would rather forget, images of people who either hurt or humiliated me when I was growing up coming back for another try. Your standard fears of growing old and dying alone. Of humiliating yourself in front of the people you respect and whose opinion means something to you. Of days when I felt the whole world was against me. Of childhood beatings, taunts and some things that I'm pretty sure are illegal. Of my own failures and inability, of my insecurities and doubts and of just about everything else in between. "

She paused letting the effects of her words sink in "But what you saw back there, that sort of nightmare's new. I mean I've had dreams before about him leaving me or losing him, but I've never dreamt about him hurting me."

"You poor thing." Bernadette got up and gave Amy a hug. "It's okay," She cooed, "It's just a dream. Just a nightmare, just the result of all this stress that's been building up over the last few month. It's just your brain interpreting it in funny ways. After all you're a neuroscientist; you know how the mind can act in strange ways."

"I know, I know. It's just, well scary. I care about him, I love him. And it just felt so awful to hear him talking about me like that…Even if he isn't real."

"Of course it does. It's a terrible thing to deal with the idea that the one you love doesn't care for you. But you've got nothing to worry about, because what you heard was only a dream. And outside in the real world, there is a real Sheldon Cooper who does care about you."

"You sound very sure of that," Amy said cynically.

"What? Amy, are you telling me that you honestly believe doesn't care about you?"

Amy didn't reply she wanted to tell Bernadette that she was wrong, and that she did know he cared about her. And normally she would have, but on this occasion something was holding her back. Whether it was a result of her insecurities, or residual fears from her nightmare, or something else entirely, she didn't know, but regardless of which one it was, she just couldn't say it.

Bernadette looked near speechless; she just starred in almost disbelief. "Amy…" she finally said, "…you really do believe that he doesn't care about you, don't you?"

"No, no, it's not that. I mean…well… I know he cares; he cares in his own way. It's just, I don't know if he cares about me the same way I care about him."

"Amy, I can tell you with my hand on my heart that he does."

Amy snorted slightly, "How could you possibly know how he feels?"

"Cause I have a pair of eyes." Bernadette replied, "and I've been watching. I've been watching him very closely since he first sprouted wings. Who can blame me, he's part angel. He's the confirmation of everything I was brought up with a child. He's finally conclusive proof that there are something's in this universe that do exist in the area of faith. And do you know what the one constant with him is through this whole adventure?"

"What?"

"Every single time we're in danger, he'll always make certain your protected before anyone else. When we were on the roof that first night, when he was getting ready to fly you were the first person he grabbed hold off. When we were kidnapped by Asmodeus, when they saved me the only thing he cared about was where you were. Every single time we're in danger he'll always push you behind him or out of harm's way. You're his first thought, not himself, not Leonard, you. And if that doesn't prove that he really does care about you, really I'm not sure what else will."

Amy didn't speak she just stared at her friend, letting the words wash over her. And then for no apparent reason she began to cry again. "Amy what's wrong now?" Bernadette said, startled by this sudden relapse in her friends behaviour.

"Your right, he does care about me. So why am I dreaming that he would treat me so badly?"

Bernadette rolled her eyes, "Amy, relax its only one nightmare."

Amy didn't reply, "It is only one nightmare? You said was only one nightmare."

"Fine," Amy finally replied, "yes its only one nightmare."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

Amy nodded sheepishly. "So what happens now?"

Bernadette shrugged, "I guess we just wait until we wake up."

Silence fell between them. Bernadette opened her mouth to speak, before deciding against it. The two women simply went back to slowly drinking there tea.

Neither woman awoke until late next morning, but sadly no change awaited them. Sheldon was still unconscious, he hadn't moved once. Crowing around the group looked down at him, before slowly looking up at the other. Eyes flicked from nervous face to nervous face. Until finally they all ended back upon him.

In almost unison they all turned to leave to the other part, only Amy stayed behind to watch her wounded love.

"Okay so what are we going to do?" Howard asked.

No one replied, "Come one" he said "It's been two days now since that happened to him and from the looks of things he's not going to come out of this comma any time soon. "

"He's right." Bernadette said "we can stay here. We haven't got any food, resources, and no protection in case we get tracked down again. Azazel might be out of the game for the moment, but Mammon and Asmodeus aren't."

"Should we move Sheldon in his condition?" Penny asked.

Howard rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Who here has even the slightest idea what we should and shouldn't do? We don't even know what his condition is." He paused briefly for breath "I mean who in this entire world can honestly say with any degree of certainly what the effects of a Nephilim having their wings burned off because of a demons curse is going to be?"

"So what do we do then?"

There was a pause and once again, the four pair of eyes went from one to the other, then back to themselves.

Sighing Amy once again looked down at her love. It was just so difficult to look at him like this his face was so…painful. What he must have suffered she could scarcely imagine. "it just isn't fair" she mummed to himself. And the more she thought about, the more she realised she was right. It wasn't fair. Her boyfriend didn't deserve this kind of torment and agony, Sheldon was a good man. An arrogant, selfish and condensing man sure, but he was still good at heart.

Mind you he had been noticeably less arrogant ever since that fatal night. Amy sometimes worried about Sheldon's psychological state. What she had always assumed was a type of behavioural disorder; she now knew was simply natural behaviour for a Nephilim. But still that didn't help with his present state.

She had no way of knowing what psychological effects this ordeal had upon. His greatest secret had been revealed, and she could tell he felt guilty about the danger they were in. In some of his more obsessed and tense moments Amy had honestly been worried, how much could he take? Of course, any psychological wounds now seemed immaterial compared to these physical ones.

Sighing Amy got up to get them some more water, when a sudden groan stopped her straight in her tracks. Slowly she turned around, and her eyes opened wide at what she saw.

"There is simply no other alternative; we'll just have to risk it. We have to get out of here, there is realistically no other." Leonard finally said.

"But how exactly? We don't have any transport and we can't simply carry an unconscious man around, and even if we could we would never get through the streets." Penny said, "We'd be arrested and questioned before we even got a single block."

"Then we need to get some transport. We'll just have to buy some"

"That's going to cost us though. We're already quite a bit behind; we can't just keep handing out money indefinitely eventually we'll run out." Howard said.

"I know, but what alternative do we have? At least we all still have are credit cards." Leonard replied.

"I know it's just…"

Before she could finish speaking, suddenly Amy ran in. Wide eyed and frantic she looked at them. "Quick…Sheldon… waking up." She gasped.

Almost at once the whole group turned and ran into the other room. Like a crowd they swarmed around him. All eyes staring, and yes Amy was right, he was walking up. Sheldon was a completely different state now; he was no longer still or silent. Instead he was shaking and rocking slightly, he was making an almost whimpering sound. It was almost like he was having trouble awaking from a bad dream.

"Guys, guys." Leonard snapped, "Everyone back a bit, your suffocating him. He's been through a severe trauma, let's not disorientate him further." Leonard's instructions were quickly understood; slowly the whole group took a few steps back, leaving only Leonard and Amy close to Sheldon.

"Sheldon?" Leonard said softly, he leaned in closer towards his friend and tilted himself slightly, so he was now staring him face to face. Sheldon had stopped moving, and while he still whimpered, he no longer shook. Amy just stood there silently watching, a conflict of emotion was running through her so badly that honestly she was unsure how she truly felt.

Silence fell, the entire group waited with baited breath; out of the sudden commotion everything had gone quiet. Everyone was waiting to see what happened next. Then suddenly Sheldon's eyes opened and Leonard jumped back screaming. He clutched his hands against his eyes and began to scream. "My Eyes! My eyes!" He screamed "I'm blind! My eyes!"

The sudden shift was almost too quick to process and the group was left startled. Slowly Sheldon's head swivelled round so he was now facing them. Where Sheldon's eyes had been, were now two pools of blinding white light. There blaze lit the room like a floodlight and the others were forced to either back away or shield their eyes to protect themselves from the glare and then suddenly everything went mad.

Sheldon suddenly began to scream, but it was not a human's scream, nor that of any know creature. It hit with rage of a hurricane and the agony of a torture chamber. Truthfully it was closer to an explosion than a cry; and it forced everyone present to fall to their knees and clutch their ears. Then the room went quiet. The blinding glare dimmed. As quickly as it had started it all stopped.

Startled and panicked, slowly one by one the group dared to look up. Now standing there in the middle of the room, snarling like a rapid dog was Sheldon. His eyes still glowed an inhumanly bright white, but the glare had dimmed significantly. He just stood there, his eyes darting from person to person.

Amy who was the closet was frozen in spot, staring in horror at her boyfriend. Then he moved. First one step forward and then another. He swayed violently as if he was just learning to walk. Stumbling blindly Sheldon came forward. His legs moving out of sync with his torso, it was a miracle he didn't fall over. His arms swung wildly. He hurried straight into one of the walls, before staggering backwards straight into another.

Leonard was still kneeling oblivious to this turmoil, his hands still clutching his ears and his eyes shut. The pain was beginning to dull now but the effect had shaken him. The entire group watched in confusion as Sheldon stumbled. He looked like Frankenstein's monster straight off the operating table and was still trying to figure out how to walk. What the hell had this experience done to him?

Stumbling once again, Sheldon forcibly pushed himself back up straight, clicking slightly as he did, before letting his arms fall loose by his sides. Slowly he raised his head, his gaze rising he locked eyes with Amy. And then he just stopped, he was no longer snarling, just staring into Amy's big brown eyes.

Taking the hint, Amy slowly stepped forward, not breaking the gaze. Sheldon stood there silently, doing nothing but holding his line of sight with her. Ever so slowly Amy crossed the distance between them. Meanwhile still kneeling upon the ground, Leonard finally felt the pain disappearing. Taking his hands of his eyes, he began to blink, trying to readjust.

Amy didn't dare even blink, somehow her sight had managed to calm him down, but what would happen if it was broken? She tried to push such fears from her mind, she needed to focus. This was okay, he was calming down and they weren't much further now. She wasn't sure what she would do when she got to him, but hopefully her just being there would be enough. Honestly part of her wanted to smile that her mere presence was having such a positive effect upon him.

They were only a few yards apart when suddenly Leonard cried out, "My visions clearer, I think I can see again."

Sheldon's head spun around towards him and the graze was broken. Panicking Amy froze. Swivelling Sheldon turned on the spot, so now his whole body was facing Leonard and as he did he bent forward slightly. His eyes narrowing, he let out a great snarl. Then quickly his legs sprung upwards. The sheer force of his muscles catapulted him through the air.

"Leonard!" Penny screamed.

Still blinking, Leonard instinctively looked up startled; his vision fading into place the inhuman face of his best friend appeared before him. Frantically Leonard dived forwards. Sheldon crashed to the ground behind him. Still snarling he jumped back up to his feet, before stumbling and nearly falling over again.

Frantically Leonard tried to scramble away from his maddened friend. Furiously Sheldon's fist swung at him, and Leonard just managed to dive out of the way. The ground shattered under the force of his blow, and Sheldon pulled back howling in agony.

"The pain's drove him insane, run!" How Howard screamed. It was only as Sheldon's face turned to face him, he realised what a mistake that had been. Started he staggered backwards straight into the wall. Sheldon's legs were like giant springs, they shot him across the room in seconds. Snarling he stood there in front of Howard. Howard's face lost all its colour as Sheldon raised his clenched fists above his head.

"Howie," Bernadette screamed, frantically she pulled off her left shoe and hurled it across the room. It collided with smack against the back of Sheldon's head. The blow was just hard enough to cause him to fall forwards. Howard frantically dived to the side, as Sheldon collided with the wall.

Dazed and in pain he howled, and shook. The group had scattered. Spinning around his eyes flicked from person to person, as if trying to assess what to do next. Silence fell, the group staring at him, Sheldon staring back. It was like he was waiting for some great pin to drop or something.

It was difficult to describe him in this state. He was no longer snarling he just stood there silently. He also wasn't swaying any more, instead he stood up straight. His eyes still glowed, but it was now much dimmer than it had been, to the point that if you squinted you could just make out his real eyes.

Leonard's eyes focused upon the only exit, if they could get to it, they could shut the door and lock Sheldon in till he either calmed down or fell asleep. But there was no way he could outrun him, Leonard was never anything close to a sprinter, and with longer legs he knew Sheldon would be on him in seconds, and that was even if he needed to run.

But at the same time there was only one of him, and there were five of them. Looking around, Leonard could tell that that others were starting to come to the same conclusion. Eyes kept shooting across the room and then back to Sheldon. Everyone knew what the others were thinking; it was only a question of who would move first. And in this resounding tension the constant silence felt as loud as a cry.

Then suddenly for seeming no provocation, Sheldon let out another yell. Startled the others looked at him in confusion. The glow of his eyes intensified and without warning he charged forwards at the group. Frantically they scattered like ants in a rain storm. Switching targets, Sheldon tried to keep up, but as his eyes frantically followed, it was impossible. It was like he was trying to go after all of them at once.

Panting for breath, Howard forced himself to pause. Staring he watched the others run around, what the hell was going on? It was like the accident had left Sheldon incapable of logic, he just ran, switching targets everyone moment, it seemed he had no goal. The trouble was the group was beginning to tire.

As Howard watched, once again in vain Penny tried to run for the exit, Sheldon spun like a top and snarling jumped across the room, forcing her to dive to the side to avoid him. If he could do that then why run? Never mind that, why was he chasing us? What was going on?

Howards thoughts were interrupted, the moment Sheldon's eyes fixed upon him. Snarling he ran forward at him. Frantically Howard shot forwards, he did not have to run long however, as spying a tired Leonard, Sheldon spun on the spot and charged at him.

Frantically Leonard scrambled on the spot trying to escape his friend; however he tripped and fell forwards. Snarling Sheldon pounced. Scrambling Leonard tried get out of the way. But Sheldon's quick arm managed to grab his left leg. Leonard could barely scream as sudden tug caused him fly backwards and up into the air.

The others could only stare in horror as Sheldon, still snarling like a rapid dog, lifted his helpless best friend above his head. He paused and for the moment time seemed to slow down. Every event was playing ten times slowly.

You could see everything with such clarity as Sheldon's arms extended to their furthest, and then held Leonard there almost seven foot in the air. The tension as sweat poured down Leonard's brow, and he frantically struggled to try and free himself form Sheldon's cast iron grip. And Penny screaming "Leonard!" as her legs frantically struggled across the grey stone floor towards them.

Previously distracted with his catch, Sheldon's narrow eyes just had time to open wide as he saw Penny changing at him. Red faced and panicking, she hurled her right fist straight into his face. Accelerator by her run, the blow hit with a loud whack. Sheldon was sent sprawling backwards. His grip broken, Leonard fell forwards. Penny barely had time to retract her arm, when Leonard fell upon her. Causing them both to collapse on to floor.

Sheldon continued to stagger backwards. His balance broken, he tripped and fell backwards. His head hit the brick wall at an angle, producing an incredibly loud cracking sound. Sheldon continued to fall. He hit the ground with a softer thud and just laid there motionless.

The others didn't hesitate for rushing over. Howard and Bernadette stopped in front of Leonard and Penny and helped them both back to their feet. However Amy didn't.

"Are you okay?" Bernadette cried.

"Fine," Penny groaned, she clutched her hand. The whole thing was bright red and her wrist was tilted at odd angle.

"Great," Leonard muttered, as he stood up he felt sure at least three disks clicked.

"How, how did that work?" Bernadette said in disbelief, "we've seen him shrug of blows from Demons. There is no way you could be that strong?"

"Well he was surprised, it's almost like he didn't see me coming for him."

"Even so, it still shouldn't have worked."

"Never mind how it worked," Howard said, "what they hell caused him to act like that? It was like he had gone mad?"

"It must have been the trauma. It's had clearly had a terrible effect upon his mind."

"Um Guys…" Leonard said, he pointed to Amy.

Amy was standing there above Sheldon, her eyes were wide open and she looked like she was going through shock.

"Um Amy?" Penny said worried.

"He's…he's…he's dead!" Amy whispered. "Oh my god, you didn't need to kill him." She screamed.

Frantically the group ran around. Sheldon was lying at an angle. The force of the blow had partially split his scalp, and his blood seeped out the wound. His eyes were closed and he was motionless.

Howard turned pale, and Bernadette grabbed him. Penny just stared. Frantically Leonard dropped down beside him. He leaned in close, before grasping and saying in a solemn voice "he's not breathing."

Amy let out what could only be described as a gasp of anguish, before collapsing into Penny's side.

"Wait, Stop." Bernadette suddenly cried, "He moved."

"What?"

"I saw a twitch, on his neck."

Slowly Leonard leaned in and placed his hand against Sheldon's neck. "She's right," he gasped, "he's still got a pulse. He's not breathing, but his heart's still beating."

"Quick, something must be blocking his airways." Amy screamed. "Help him!"

The others nuzzled by his side. Together they managed to prop him up slightly, so his head was tilted. Frantically Leonard worked open Sheldon's mouth and began tried to find said blockage. But there was none.

"He's…he's fine," he said in disbelief, "his airways clear. He's not breathing, but there is nothing stopping him from."

"What? But…but how? What?" Amy was near flabbergasted by this point, the amount of stress and mood swings was all too much. Sensing this, Bernadette gently took her friends arm. Near tears, Amy let Bernadette lead her away, only pausing briefly to pick up her discarded shoe. Leaving the others to deal with Sheldon.

"So what do we do?" Penny asked.

"I don't know." Leonard said, "if he's not breathing then something should be very wrong. But his heart rate seems fine. It's like he suddenly doesn't need to oxygen."

"Is that possible?"

"No. Well at the very least it shouldn't be."

"Guys," Howard said. "Don't you think we should do something about that?" he pointed to the blood now forming a small pool on the floor.

"He's not healing." Penny gasped. "Every other time since that night he's managed to heal himself. Why is he not healing now?"

"Probably the same reason that he didn't heal those burn marks on his back, whatever that is. But never mind." Leonard groaned as he examined the wound, he had always hated blood. He had to hold his stomach to stop him to stop him losing his breakfast. But Sheldon needed his help.

"We're in luck, it doesn't look like it pieced his skull so it's only a minor wound."

"If its a minor wound, then why is he bleeding so much?" Penny said in disbelief.

"Don't worry, I remember this from first aid," Leonard said. "There are lots of blood vessels close to the skin in the head, meaning it will bleed a lot but that doesn't mean the wound's serious."

"Dude," Howard said, "He's been knocked unconscious, I think it's pretty safe to say it's serious. And when did you learn first aid?"

"Well when I was in high school, I got too embarrassed to keep going the nurse to admit that… what am I saying? Stop distracting me; we need to deal with his wound. Even if it is minor, he's still losing a lot of blood."

Together between them, they managed to lift Sheldon back on to the table. Turing Leonard ran over into the other room, grabbing a bottle of water, a cloth and a red plastic bowl. Rushing back in, he tipped the contents of the bottle into the bowl, dropped the cloth in water.

"Okay first we need to put pressure on the wound?"

"On his head?" Howard asked.

"Yes, for fifteen minutes, some keep time."

"Aren't you supposed to watch out for signs of shock?" Howard asked.

"Yes, but the only problem with that is, he's already unconscious."

"Then shouldn't we try and wake him?"

"I don't know, the course didn't cover major head wounds."

"Um guys," Penny said, "the Bleeding's stopped."

Howard and Leonard spun, sure enough although still blood stained; no more blood was trickling down the side of Sheldon's head. Slowly Leonard leaned forward and using the cloth washed away a layer. The wound had vanished.

"Hey listen," Howard said. The others paused could it be? Leaning in, Leonard confirmed it, "he's breathing again."

"What?" Penny said, "okay what the heck is going on, first he doesn't need to breath, then he doesn't heal, then he does heal and now he's breathing again? What's wrong with him, and why did he attack us?"

"I don't know. Hey, help me roll him over; I want to check to see if his burn marks have also healed." Gently the others pushed Sheldon up, but sadly they had not, the blackened patches were still there.

Sighing, the group left Sheldon to what appeared sleep and went to fill Amy and Bernadette in on what had occurred. Amy was still somewhat shaken, it wasn't easy to get the image of her boyfriend going on a rampage and trying to kill his friends out of her mind.

"So what now?" Penny said.

"We should take him to hospital," Bernadette replied, "It's clear he's not going to simply get better, if he doesn't get medical attention then who knows what could occur?"

"We can't take him to hospital," Howard replied, "How are we going to explain that he's unconscious cause of a demonic curse? Or that his back is burned, because his wings were set alight?"

"Howard's right," Leonard said, "It's dangerous, but we can't take Sheldon to hospital, it simply opens up to many questions. Say they give him even a basic injection and the wound shuts the moment the needle is out. They'd probably lock him up and send him to a government lab or something."

"So what do we do then?" Penny asked.

"We'll just have to go along with are original plan, and hope that what happened back there was only something of an after taste from the curse," Leonard replied.

"But what if it's not?"

Silence fell, "We'll just have to hope that it was." Leonard replied. No one spoke for a while after that. They all knew what the other was thinking, but there was really nothing left worth to say.

As it was decided they had both been through too much excitement already, the girls left to go find transport while Howard and Leonard stayed to keep an eye on Sheldon. He appeared to be peacefully sleeping now. But truthfully what condition he was in, they had no way of knowing. His heart rate and breathing was steady. But that was about it. Leonard noticed that although his cut had closed, all his bruises still remained.

With little else to do, Howard and Leonard sat down and just waited for the others to get back.

"Here do we have anything to drink?" Howard asked.

"Just water, Howard." Leonard took of his glasses and rubbed his brow.

"Couldn't you have gotten anything better?"

"Well we weren't sure how long we were going to stay here so we simply grabbed a few necessities to keep us going for a day or two."

"Still could have gotten something better."

"Well next time how about you come with us, rather than sleeping in."

"Hey, I was still worn out from having to carry him here."

"So? So were the rest of us." Leonard shook his head, "oh, come on this is silly, what are we fighting over. Look it won't be too long now, let's just find something that we can talk about that doesn't involve fighting."

"Yeah your right."

There was a pause, "So Leonard, where do you think we'll end up after this."

"I don't know, I'm just hoping he goes for Italy, I'm not sure I could survive in the desert. All that hot dust, it makes me worried even thinking about it."

"I really can't believe we're having to abandon are homes."

"What choice do we have? The demons will come and kill us if we don't leave America."

"Shame though, I'm sure going to miss Pasadena."

"Yeah me to." There was a pause; once again Leonard shuffled his glasses.

Howard got up and took a bottle of water up. He went to open it before placing it back down on the floor. "You, you know what, this pointless. Why are we just sitting here?"

"There isn't anything else to do."

"Dude, we spent a month chained to a wall. We were nearly starved to death and systematically tortured. We should be out there smelling the flowers, seeing the sights, eating a pile of ribs or something, not cooped up in this warehouse and might I ask, this like the fifth abandoned building we've found. Why are there so many abandoned places?"

"Probably the recession." Leonard replied flippantly.

"Dude I'm serious, I…I don't like being clustered up not after…"

"Yeah, I know." Leonard sighed. They both knew they could never be same. Not after the last month, it simply wasn't possible for them to be the same people they were before that month.

"Believe me I know, you know the first morning while out shopping I actually ran through the nearest park. Well technically only the first part, I got a stich before I could run through the rest. But still it felt so good, I felt free. Free for the first time in what felt like so long."

He shook his head and smiled, "it's funny really, you spend your life free, so many of us are born free. And so few of us know any differently. So I guess it never really dawns on you on what being free really means until you've had it taken away from you. You hear all this ranting about them taking are freedoms, but it's all just talk. Its not until you've actually felt the cold metal around your arms and the hot stone beneath your feet you realise what it truly means to loose your freedom. Till then it's all just talk. Talk and words and worry. "

Howard shuddered slightly, "Leonard let's just not talk about it okay?"

"Yeah okay, and don't worry. When all this done we'll go do all those things you want to." He paused, "honestly since you mentioned it, it's all I've wanted to do. But right now we have to look after Sheldon. I mean we do kind of owe him."

Howard nodded, "your right."

"Still at least he's no trouble."

"No I suppose not,"

Leonard paused and then hesitated "do you think he'll be okay?"

"How should I know. Look he's a lot tougher than I dreamed; he will hopefully pull through this fine."

"Yeah, I hope your right."

Leonard got up to take drink, when a sudden crash caught his attention. Frantically he and Howard ran for the door.

They threw it open to reveal an empty room. The table had been knocked over. Sheldon was gone.

"What the…?" Leonard didn't even finish he just ran into the room, Howard approached more cautiously, his eyes darting from place to place. Standing by the table, Leonard spun around trying to make sense of what was going on.

"He's just vanished, he can't vanish." Leonard paused, "can he vanish?"

"I don't know, I just found out he's got telekinesis. Who's to say what he found out he could do during that breathing space he mentioned."

The others looked around the room was empty. And then a sudden drip fell upon Howard's shoulder. Both men's eyes opened wide, they had seen this movie enough times. But before they could move, from the celling dropped Sheldon.

Snarling like I wild animal, he backhanded them both in a single blow. They were both sent flying. Leonard crashed into the floor. Howard hit wall, producing a terrible snapping sound. He let out a yell of pain. Furiously Sheldon charged forward. He crashed straight into the wall, not even slowly he ploughed straight through the solid brick out into the night.

Clutching his arm in agony, Howard fell to his knee's in pain. He couldn't stop himself shouting "If you could that, then why wait till he took us out before leaving?"

Sheldon ran. He ran through across the concrete and across the grass. In the dimly lit streets he ran. It was dusk now, the sun already set and most of the early night was a gentle buzz as the last of the light faded and the moths and other insects started to wake up, but none of this matter to Sheldon. He just ran.

Not hesitating, not pausing, not even thinking clearly he ran. 'Run, run, run!' That was all his mind told, 'Run, you have to run. There after you. There coming for you. Run! There hurt you. There beat you. There break you, burn, cut you open and rip you apart! They already took your wings. Just think what there do to the rest of you. There after you! Run.'

Oblivious to world and still in agonising pain, Sheldon continued to run through the dirty back streets. He was approaching the true outskirts now, leaving the old industrial district behind. Not that mattered, he could have been in the desert and he would have still run. His mind just kept playing the same three letter world over and over again.

Some saw him passing, but those who did barely cared. Probably just another crazy, they told themselves. Either that or he owes some body money.

Frantically Sheldon carried on, he was already tired by this point. But it didn't matter; 'Run!' his brain was literally screaming it over and over again 'Faster! Faster! You have to run! There catching up with you! RUN!'

Sheldon clutched his head, try as he might it wouldn't stop. He couldn't go faster, he need to stop. No he couldn't stop, they would get him. They would hurt him. He had to keep going, he had to keep going, he had to keep going.

Suddenly his legs buckled and he fell forwards, stumbling he fell off the pavement and into the road. Groaning in pain he tried to push himself to his feet. He had to keep going. 'There here,' the voice in his head whispered. 'I warned you, but didn't listen. You should have run while you had the chance.' Now frantically Sheldon tried to get back up, but his legs still hurt.

'I told you to run and you failed, now there here. Now they're going to hurt you. They're going to hurt you again.' "NO!" Sheldon screamed, he gave a final push forcing himself to his feet. He had to run, he had to run. It was only then, he saw the blinding lights. Turning he barely had time to see the head lights reach him. Sheldon let out a great scream as the Van ploughed into him; the last thought to go through his mind was: 'I told you they would hurt you.'

Okay I hope this managed to live up to some of my promises, and this wasn't to much of a let down. Now I can't promise when my next chapter will be ready, cause I honestly don't know. I've just got so much to do right now, everything spiked tenfold. But I can say with some level of certainty that I won't make you suffer such a long wait again.

As such I just hope you can manage it.

Please review.