In my dream, I was stood at the top of the Empire State Building.

The murmur of conversation surrounded me as tourists stood pressed against the fences that surrounded the balcony pointed at distant landmarks and expressed their admiration for the view. I myself had my fingers looped through the fence, staring in the distance with a wide smile on my face.

One of the murmurs got closer, and an arm looped around my waist. The sensation only made me smile wider, and I twisted away from the view to look up into his face, not even hesitating before stretching onto my toes so that I could reach to kiss him. I felt him smile against my lips, tightening his hold and kissing me back.

Only, when I leant back, the view of his face was blurred. I could just about make out the dark blur of his hair, his tanned skin and shining eyes, but the colours seemed to blur together. My smile vanished, and I took a step back, watching him. He didn't seem to notice anything was wrong as he started to point out popular tourist spots in the distance. I couldn't make out what he was saying though. His voice was a low drone, one I could only pick out from the crowd because he was stood so close.

My stomach clenched. I tried calling out, but my voice wouldn't work properly. The boy stood beside me didn't pay my panic any attention, occasionally twisting to smile at me, the blur of his shoulders shaking like he was laughing.

I tried to focus on him, tried to push the rest of the voices and blurs out of my mind. But it was no use. The harder I thought about it, the more incoherent his voice became, and the more he seemed to blur out of sight.

Just when I could barely make him out anymore, he turned and dropped what felt like a hand onto my forearm. The contact sent a shot of electricity up my arm and I jerked back, yelping.

Something was right. The scene in front of me was still blurred, but it was darker, like I was inside now, and the voices were more urgent and panicked. Machines whirled and beeped dramatically, and I felt hands take my shoulders gently.

I lurched with a gasp, trying to get free, but the hands only tightened. My eyes fluttered as I searched for the person they belonged to, and slowly, my vision shifted into view. A man in a white coat was stood beside the bed where I sat upright, his hands on my shoulders and his lips moving with a reassuring look on his face. I felt my panic dissipate gradually, and I gulped hard as his voice came into focus.

"Miss McKenna?"

My eyebrows pulled together, and I opened my mouth to respond, but it was so dry I couldn't find the words. The doctor frowned in concern. "Mary, fetch the girl some water, please." A nurse in blue scrubs I hadn't noticed before nodded and hurriedly slipped out of the room. "Miss McKenna, can you hear me? Just nod or shake your head gently."

Slowly, I nodded at him, and a sharp pain shot up from the base of my skull. I winced loudly, automatically lifting a hand to reach the back of my neck, but the doctor caught my hand in one of his. "You've had quite a bad injury, Miss McKenna. Do you remember?"

Injury? Was that why my head hurt so much? Gritting my teeth against the pain, I shook my head.

The doctor hesitated a moment, and I heard the door opposite the bed open. The nurse was back, holding a small cup of water and a plastic straw. "Here you go," she smiled at me kindly, lifting the straw to my lips. I took long gulps, relishing the way the cool liquid soothed the inside of my mouth and throat.

When I was finished, the doctor leaned forward again. "Miss McKenna, I'm just going to take a look at your eyes and check everything is okay, alright?" I pursed my lips and nodded at him, watching as he dipped his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a small torch. Trying to hold my eyelids open, he flashed the light in each of my eyes twice with a small frown. "Can you tell me where you are?"

I glanced around the room, gulping uncomfortably. "Hospital," I guessed weakly, my voice catching in my throat.

"Do you remember why?"

I blinked at him, trying to think back. A shot of pain radiated over my forehead. "No."

The doctor shot the nurse a concerned look while he thought I wasn't watching. "What's the last thing you remember, Miss McKenna?"

Again, I thought about his question, and a memory flashed through my mind – I was sat in our front room, pleading down the phone at Cameron to make Mum and Dad let me fly out to New York earlier.

Somehow, the answer felt wrong, but I relayed it back to the doctor all the same.

"Your front room? Where is that?"

"Christchurch," I blinked, confused. Isn't that where we were?

The doctor lifted an eyebrow. "In New Zealand?"

"Yes…" I trailed, panic starting to build in the back of my chest. "What's wrong? Why are you asking me that?"

The doctor smiled tightly. "It's alright, Miss McKenna, just questions we have to ask after someone has sustained a head injury such as yours."

"Head injury," I repeated under my breath, ignoring the twinges of pain at the base of my skull. I stared at him. "Where am I?"

He took a deep breath to answer, settling himself on the side of my bed, but before he could, something outside crashed and raised voices drifted through the closed door. He twisted, scowling. "Mary, could you…?"

The nurse nodded hurriedly. "Of course," she said, slipping out of the room. The moment the door opened, the voices grew louder, and I frowned.

"Is that my parents?" I asked abruptly.

"Miss McKenna, there's something we need to discuss before your parents come in here," the doctor told me softly.

"What? No, I want to see them."

"Miss-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the door thudded open, and my terrified looking mother burst in without batting an eyelid to the protesting nurses or doctor.

"Des!" she breathed in relief, rushing forward to wrap me in her arms. She squeezed, and I automatically gasped in pain when a shot rushed through the back of my skull.

"Mrs McKenna!" the doctor complained, as she flinched back looking ashen.

"Oh Des, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

I smiled tightly and rest a hand on her arm. "It's fine, Mum, I'm okay."

She beamed in relief, tucking a stray strand of my messy hair behind my ear affectionately. Behind her, Dad was stood in front of the nurses, as if warning them not to try and move either of them out of the room.

"There is something I'd like to discuss with your daughter," the doctor said importantly. "I'm afraid it's rather urgent."

Mum sniffed. "Whatever you have to say to her, you can say in front of us. She's our daughter." I glanced back at the doctor, expecting him to continue, but once again, his urgent matter was forced to wait when another figure pushed past the nurses in the doorway.

"Now really!" the nurse Mary complained, but the boy didn't even look at her. His eyes were fixed on me.

"Destiny?" he breathed. "You're alright?" As if he couldn't believe it, he moved forward to take my hand, and I flinched back in panic, staring at him in shock. He froze, his dark hair ruffled like he hadn't slept for days, and tired circles clinging to the bottom of his eyes.

On my other side, Mum fidgeted. "Destiny, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.

I glanced at her, scanning her concerned frown, and my stomach clenched. Something was wrong. I opened my mouth to try and explain, but nothing came out.

"Des, it's me," the boy said, and this time, he took my hand from the bedside.

Immediately, I snatched it back in panic, shifting closer to Mum. "I- I don't know you," I choked. The boy's face fell.

"Des," Dad breathed. "Of course you do, it's Yves Benedict. The boy you met when you arrived here?"

I stared at Yves, the grief-stricken, horrified look in his eyes, and I was sure Dad must have been right. "Here?" I gulped. "Where's here?"

Mum paled. "New York, honey, where did you think we were?"

"New York?" I asked in barely a whisper. Tears began to burn in the back of my eyes, and I squirmed, like I was searching for a way out. "But that's not possible! You-" I turned back to Yves, to find him pale, shaking and staring at me like I'd just driven a knife through his chest. My throat closed up. "W-Who…"

"Destiny, think!" Dad insisted softly. "He's your soulfinder!"

I choked loudly, staring at my father in disbelief. "No, no he can't be, that's not possible, I'd know! I'd remember!" My eyes flickered sideways, but Yves wasn't looking at me anymore. His eyes had dropped and his fists had clenched to stop them shaking. Fear clenched at my heart, and I turned to my mother. "Mum?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she reached out to wipe the tears from my eyes with her thumb. "Oh honey," was all she could say, in a soft, devastated tone that made me shiver.

Tears streamed down my face, and I shook my head. "No, no, no that's not… that's c-can't be…" Mum just stared, and suddenly my body shook with heart-broken sobs so loud, I didn't even hear the door slamming as Yves left.