A/N: This story is part of the rewrite to my story "Separated, but not Apart," and takes place slight before the original one began. I actually didn't plan on this being part of the dream collection, but thought a dream would work perfectly here. Enjoy.

Alone by tiger002

'As I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death
I wear my crown of thorns and pull the knife out my chest
I keep searching for something that I never seem to find
But maybe I won't because I left it all behind…'

"Think this kid has anything, Giles?" a loud gruff man asked, causing Cody to break out of his light slumber. He froze in place, and made sure to keep his breaths even. He knew that acting weak and innocent was the best way to avoid trouble.

"Doubt it. Looks like he ain't eaten for days. Can't have any money on him."

By this point, Cody was fully awake, ready to fight these two should they try anything and then disappear again. He kept his eyes closed though, knowing it was best to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He could take these two if they tried anything funny, but he knew he had nothing to gain by fighting when he didn't have to.

He heard their footsteps as they walked away and pried his right eye open just enough to see what was going on. He breathed a gentle sigh of relief when they rounded a corner.

He saw it was still dark, and his body craved sleep, so he allowed himself to relax just enough to doze off, while still keeping an ear out for anyone else.

…

"Cody," he heard a voice call out, jolting him upward.

So, they had found him again.

He looked up from his bed of concrete in one of the many alleys in this vast city and saw their signature black suits, black pants, black shoes, and black sunglasses.

"You again," he said, getting to his feet. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep so deeply that he didn't notice them coming. He was actually sleeping somewhat well and these guys just had to ruin it. Though, he was thankful their orders were to keep him alive; otherwise letting his guard down could have been fatal.

"You are coming with us," their leader said, grabbing onto his shoulder, thinking that his superior size would mean the teen couldn't get away.

Cody almost smirked at the fool's arrogance. He knew their orders: capture him alive and bring him back to John. Little did they know how hard that would be.

In a motion quicker than any human could follow, Cody freed his shoulder, punched the guy in the face with his other arm, and kicked the guy into the wall before sprinting down the alleyway. He heard the other two draw guns, something he just knew was an empty threat. They couldn't shoot him, or they'd risk killing John's prized possession.

Cody ran through the streets of the crowded city, his eyes still getting used to the sunlight. He kept glancing over his shoulder for their signature black car, dreading trying to get away from that again. He knew he could evade them easily enough if they were on foot since he was so much faster than them.

However, in his worry about what was behind him, he didn't notice the throngs of people blocking his way. He crashed into a rich looking business person, knocking them both to the ground. After mumbling a quick apology, he got up and took off as fast as ever. He hated traveling through big cities during rush hour because of how hard it was to make any progress, but this time he was somewhat thankful because he could blend in easier and would be able to get away. At least, he hoped so.

He risked crashing into someone else by taking a quick glance behind him.

Good, no black car.

That didn't mean he'd lost them though.

No, not by a long shot. But that meant he had some room to breathe. Now all he had to do was get out of the street, into a building or something, where he'd be safe. For now.

He glanced across the towering skyscrapers, analyzing which one would be best. He needed some place where he wouldn't arouse suspicion and could hide for a while. He saw several banks, but they would quickly notice that a fifteen-year-old in a torn t-shirt and black gym shorts didn't belong there. He also saw several restaurants, but they would become suspicious if he didn't order anything for a while. His stomach growled at the thought of eating, but food cost money, which was something he didn't have. He then saw a parking garage. Perfect.

After looking for that black car one more time, he slipped under the gate, earning him a few glances from the nearby drivers, but Cody knew they were too busy with their jobs to care for long. If anyone asked he'd just say he was getting something out of his mom's car or something. Not the most convincing lie, but he knew that no one had enough time to press the issue.

He ran up the ramps until he was on at least the third floor, keeping him out of sight from anyone who found him and decided to chase him. He learned long ago that he wasn't safe just because he thought he lost them. He always made several extra twists and turns no matter what to make sure he was safe before he'd even consider letting his guard down.

Now that he had climbed several ramps and saw the columns with a large 4 on them, he decided that was enough running for now. Despite this not being the safest place he could think of, he decided it would be good enough. He was too tired to keep going.

He surveyed the floor and found it nearly vacant of people, but he did catch several security cameras. He doubted they would notice him, but knew anything he did would be on record. He'd just have to keep a low profile as long as possible, something he had acquired a skill for.

His eyes locked upon a red van and he decided that would make do for a temporary rest. He walked up to it and tried to open one of its doors, but found it to be locked—something that didn't surprise him in a big city like Dayton, Ohio. Taking a few more quick glances around him to ensure no one would see, he positioned his body so it would block his hands from view of the camera. He then found the locks of the car, slid his hand through the solid, and unlocked the door. After pulling his hand back out, he climbed into the car, the soft seats an oasis compared to the hard ground of the city and his pillow of concrete.

If he had to guess, he'd say it was about 9AM, which, assuming the owner of the car worked an average job, would give him plenty of time to sleep undisturbed. He crawled into the backseat, seeing that he could easily lay across there, making it more comfortable than a chair, but on his way back, he noticed a small bag of Doritos which instantly caused his stomach to growl. He picked it up and noticed it was still half-full so he quickly gobbled down all that was left, his tongue relishing the taste and his stomach grateful for the nutrition.

He took another glance around, looking if anyone had spotted him and let loose a sigh of relief, seeing that he was alone. With that, he closed his eyes and let his body melt into the soft cushions, falling into the rest he so deeply longed for.

…

Lost in the realm of sleep, his mind drifted, memories of the past few years racing through his head. He tried focusing on the good—the memories that gave him hope, the ones that brought a smile to his face, the ones that made him laugh; but buried not so far beneath were the bad. The ones of their deaths, of the separation, of his new home (if he could call it that), of the pain of someone he thought he could trust nearly killing him. At one time, all he worried about was the test at the end of the week, or trying to fit in with the cool kids.

How he longed for such simplicity.

His dreams flashed to his old school, the start of middle school, of the whole new world of possibilities and fears.

"What do you think, Zack? This is going to be so cool," he said to his twin as they walked through the doors that first day.

Zack brushed off the comment, uninterested in learning, and walked into the shadows of the past once again.

Cody ran after him, afraid to be alone in the strange new world.

Though as he entered the shadows, the familiar school faded, and instead he saw himself in a church, his brother beside him once more. Dressed in suits and bottling up tears, they gazed upon the coffins. The coffins were but a formality since the bodies had been mangled beyond recognition in the accident. He heard the whispers of his parents echo through the air, a sliver of hope that things could go back to the way they were. He eagerly asked if Zack heard it, but before he could get an answer, a dark hand rested upon his shoulder and everything of his old life vanished.

Fear paralyzed him as everything began fading. He looked up at the man whose face was but a shadow and he began shaking. Pain erupted along his body and he tried to run, but the man's grasp just grew tighter and Cody was thrown to the ground, another bone broken.

He screamed, begging for mercy, but it didn't come. Instead, the pain grew more intense as the man's eyes grew red behind the shadow.

Cody screamed, breaking himself from the dream. He looked around as his heart pounded against his ribcage. He placed his hand on his chest, trying to calm his breaths, and noticed the sweat dripping down his body. It then occurred to him that his scream could have attracted attention, so he nervously peered out through the windows, thankful to see no one.

He held his head in his hand, trying to banish those memories from his mind. He almost allowed himself to cry, before remembering that he'd never give that sick monster the pleasure of making him waste a tear like that.

He looked to the horizon, knowing how much farther his journey would take him. He didn't even know his exact destination, but somehow, just felt called to journey to the east, back to his old home in Boston. He wasn't sure why, but it gave him hope, a purpose to keep going, to keep breathing. Maybe it was foolish, but it was all he had. And so, knowing he couldn't get any more sleep after another nightmare, he grabbed a water bottle out of the car and continued on his journey once more.

'So scared to dream in a world with no sunlight
When you wake up you know it's darker than last night
Quickly we forget, sacrifice gone by
Born to walk away, been walking my whole life'

Hear Me Now, Hollywood Undead