Nathan got out of the hospital a couple of days later. He hated every minute of it. The helpless feeling bothered him. He should be helping the helpless, not pretending he was one of them. The constant pain from his wounds, the slight breeze, and almost everything else served as a reminder of what really mattered. Audrey. There could still be a way. He would never give up. He loved her. He would get her back.
For now, though, he had to focus on helping Haven recover from the meteor shower. The fire department and hospital had taken care of a lot of the work already, but there was still much left to be done. It wouldn't be hard to keep himself busy, and they needed an extra hand. That was his job. That was what was important right then. He had to keep reminding himself. He helped for a couple of hours until he couldn't stand it anymore. He went to see Vince and Dave.
"How can we get them back?" He greeted them with the question that had been on his mind since a few days before. They knew what he was talking about. They had been through the same thing. These men had lost Sarah. Even if they didn't know how to get her back, they would at least know what not to try. They would know something.
"We don't know." It was Vince that answered. He had a regretful look for a moment, but his face quickly returned to its passive stare.
"We tried when she was Sarah. There isn't a way. We did everything we could." Dave looked Nathan in the eyes with a sorrow that both understood now.
"No. No, you didn't." He walked out of the Herald. Nothing would crush his determination. He would find something the brothers hadn't.
Audrey struggled to stay awake, but her eyelids felt so heavy. She could feel herself slip into a fevered sleep.
It was like she was all of them at once. She was still more Audrey than Sarah or Lucy, but she could feel the boundaries becoming less visible. For a little while she was all of them. First she knew everything they knew. Remembered everything they remembered. Then she forgot which life to try to hold on to. They all felt real to her. But they were slipping away from her. One second she was all of them; the next she was none.
It was too confusing. She couldn't hold on. Where was she? Who was she?
That was an odd dream. Of course she knew who she was. She heard the doorbell that had woken her up. She climbed groggily out of bed and opened the door.
"Terro, we've got a new case for you." Agent Howard stood in front of Lyssa. He didn't seem to take notice that she wore only yoga pants and a tank top, which hugged her curves. She felt a bit embarrassed to appear in front of her boss wearing only that.
"At," she paused for a second as she turned around and checked the clock, "7 a.m.? Bit of an early call, don't you think?" She sighed, "What is it?" Though she wouldn't admit it to him, she really didn't mind the early call. She had been bored in her free time. It was good to have a case again. She sat herself down in an armchair that probably needed some cleaning. She looked expectantly at her boss for more information.
"Murder. A trail of bodies. The criminal calls herself Aly. She's heading for a coastal town an hour or two away, Haven."
She nodded, "You can leave the folder on the table. I'll get right on that," she looked at him then added, "You can go."
"Right. Good luck. You can take that vacation time anytime, you know."
"Trying to get rid of me?" She smirked and gestured for him to go. He let himself out. She got ready to go to this new town. She looked at the maps he had left in the folder. It didn't look like too hard a drive. She climbed into her car, a sky blue jeep, which she had kept for nearly 4 years.
Duke watched his friend fall asleep. They took her to some apartment they had rented for the purpose. Agent Howard was still there, and he would take care of that part. He supposed she had to get to Haven somehow.
Arla had woken up. Duke felt like he must have somehow pissed her off. She seemed to be mad at the world and everyone in it. She lost her skin and waited 27 years for a man who rejected her. Still, it was hard to feel sorry for her. She had killed so many people for the body she was in right then. Duke could see through her disguise in here. It was disgusting. He wondered if she thought it was worth it. He didn't think she did.
He tried to ignore the disgusting serial killer sitting in the corner. He ended up thinking about Audrey more than anything else. He hated how they hurt her every time. If they were going to use her to stop the troubles, why did she have to change memories each time? He didn't see how all her different personas made it easier for anyone. Why did they have to make her so human? It would make it much less painful for everyone if she weren't so important to people. She loved people. People - namely him and Nathan - had loved her. He hated how they would brake a woman time and time again to save their own asses. He didn't care if the troubles were there as long as she was.
Next time he saw her she wouldn't even be Audrey anymore. Who would she be next? James said they would get to meet her when it was time for her to go back into the barn. James and Howard both said it wouldn't feel like much time had passed at all.
That was when it hit him. It had been 27 years. If he could get out, wouldn't everyone he knew be much older? What would have changed? He knew he could rebuild some sort of life for himself, but it would be hard, and there would be a lot of questions asked that he didn't have the answers to.