Alright, the storm is gone. Ironicly, the sun is actualy shineing today, which probably means more driving today (Ugh, 5 hours down, 30 to go). On the flipside though, school starts in three days. What a pain! Thanks to Alice Bezarius and Tomoshibi-Chan for the new reveiws, seriously makes me happy. And yeah, Leo is one of my favorite characters too, next to Oz and Alice.

OMG! Retrace 64 is out! AT LAST!

I do not own Pandora Hearts or the book Incarceron. (You'll see what I mean)

Chapter 4: Where...Am I?

'Leo, huh?' I thought.

I guess all my waiting paid off. He was awake, and I now knew his name, Leo. What a cute name! And his voice, it was just the same as when we first met, quiet, but kind.

"I like your name."

He tried to sit up but I gently pushed him back down. "You really shouldn't move you know. It wouldn't be good if your stitches teared."

Leo seemed to understand my words and stayed still. I readjusted his bed for him so he didn't have to sit up, and risk tearing those stitches. Still, those long bangs covered his eyes, which annoyed me. He breathed deeply, then put a hand to his head.

"What?" I asked. "Headache?"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Um...that's." I knew how long it had been, but I wasn't sure how he'd react. But, he has to know sometime. I gulped and gave him my answer. "Four days. Almost five."

He turned his head to me. "Four days?" I nodded in response, then he gazed back up at the ceiling. "Oh."

Leo didn't seem overly surprised, I don't think it really mattered. He then moved his hand slightly in front of his eyes, his fingertips just barley touching his bangs. "Wait, where's my glasses?"

'Oh right.'

"Here." I said, picking up the glasses, handing them to him. "They must of fell off your face. I found them and figured they must be yours."

He slowly took them and put them on. He smiled and seemed to relax.

"Thank you, Carrie."

I was still pissed that I wasn't able to see his eyes, but apparently he didn't mind. It was almost as if he was hiding. If he was still able to see, even with his glasses on, who was I to complain. Besides, those glasses must be very important to him. Guess I'll have to go along with it for now.

"Leo, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Hey, the question just popped into my mind.

"16."

"Hmm. Fair enough. I'm 16 too."

At least we were talking, that was progress. Leo seemed to stir something within me, something long forgotten, but I wasn't sure what. Strange though, even if his eyes were hidden by his hair and glasses, he seemed normal that way, and I was getting used to it pretty quickly.

"Carrie, you wouldn't happen to be related to Elliot Nightray, would you?" He asked me. Elliot Nightray. His name was mentioned in the records a few times, but some details were fuzzy. Some people say he died a hero, but I'm not sure of the whole story myself.

"Afraid not." I regretfully answered. He tilted his head down, seemingly disappointed. "But if it's worth anything, me and my sister are related to Sharon Rainsworth."

He brought his head back up and looked at me. "Oh, you are? That's-" He stopped in mid sentence, brining a hand to his mouth and coughing a few times.

"You alright, Leo?" I asked as he laid limply on his bed.

"Not really."

I stood up and put my had on his forehead. "You do have a bit of a fever, then again you may just have a cold."

Just then my phone rang and I looked at the caller ID. Oh no, Sasha.

"Hey, what's up?" She made it short and to the point, the point being that she wanted me to go to the grocery store and pick up some things for dinner, like right now. The whole time I was talking to her, I knew Leo was staring at my phone inventively, like it was something he'd never seen before.

"What's that?" He asked me as I hung up.

"It's called a cell phone." I then laughed and took my book bag from the floor, slinging one of the straps over my shoulder. "You must have amnesia or something."

'No, it's not that.' A voice inside myself told me, most likely my subconscious Ugh, stupid voice.

"I'll stop by tomorrow, right after school." I turned to leave, but something grabbed onto my wrist. Glancing behind me, I saw that it was Leo.

"Do you have any books?" He asked.

"Not on me at present, but I'll bring you one tomorrow."

He nodded and let go of my hand. As I walked away, I felt sad about leaving him. But I'm sure he'll be fine. Now, I had to get groceries, but I think I'll also stop by the bookstore and see if I can find a book he might like.

As promised, she came back. This time, her hair was down and she was wearing a blue skirt with a yellow shirt that had some kind of design on it.

"How you feeling today?" Her casual smile was brighter than the light being let in here.

"Just dizzy, that's all."

"Here." She said, reaching into her book bag and handing me a book called Incarceron. "Thought you'd like it."

The book was fashionably designed with a dark cover with silver leaves, golden letters that read the title, and a silver key with an eagle on it.

"Thanks." Then I remembered something, which was one reason I was really glad she came back. "Oh, Carrie."

"Yeah?"

"Could you stay here for a while? I heard that I'm getting my stitches removed today, and I-"

She put a finger to my lips. "Sure. It's not a problem."

I smiled, but the room suddenly started to spin and my limbs felt heavy, my eyes starting to close.

"Leo?" Carrie asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Ah, sorry. I'm fine." That last part was a lie. All last night, my head was constantly pounding, my throat hurt, and I couldn't get much sleep because of that. "I just...need some sleep."

"What ever the case, I'll stay here."

I nodded and let my eyes close, my mind drifting away from the world. Something told me though, that this place was different somehow. It was like, a different era.

Then I remembered some words I heard about the Abyss. 'Time is out of order.'

The thought became stuck in my mind as I fell into the depths of sleep. That was an answer, and the beginning as well.

Leo had fallen asleep, but only for a short while. When he did though, I watched him carefully, observing his face. Oh, how much his skin looked like that of a porcelain doll, giving me the impression that this boy was fragile.

He somehow reminded me of a dream...

(Dream)

"What are you saying?" She demanded.

"My dear girl, he was already chosen, since young Vincent had to interfere." A shadowed man answered.

"Isn't there another way?" She was practically yelling now. "Why an innocent person like him?"

"You know that 100 years from now, that won't matter. And maybe if I were to be killed again, the thread of fate just might leave a fragment inside him."

At that moment, a ring of fire shot out around the two, completely surrounding them.

"There has to be something...!"

"Forget it." She looked up at the man. "I won't change my mind."

The bright flames came between them both and leapt onto her, trapping her in an inferno.

"No!" She shouted. "There's gotta be another way! I wouldn't let someone like that die!"

(End dream)

What an odd dream. These are a key compontent to the story though, so pay attention to them. As always, feel free to review.