The aftermath of Thomas' departure left the former campers with a sense of despair. He had been their one link to the inside workings of Dorian's operation. More importantly, he had been their link to understanding Dorian's mind. The gap in their numbers had widened with Thomas' departure. They were now down five; with Izzy, Katie, Harold and Justin dead, and Thomas exiled they were more vulnerable than ever. Add on top of this the fact that Bridgette, Heather, and Sadie were still hospitalized and Courtney was still not a hundred percent, and they were practically inviting Dorian to attack again. At least they had Duncan back at full strength.
Abigail did not seem the least bit fazed by her father's departure. She had been shocked and outraged by his admissions, but she seemed to have shaken it off. Her nonchalant attitude worried Gwen, who felt Abigail should show some sort of emotion.
"You know Abigail, you shouldn't be so quick to wright your father off." Gwen commented, two days after Thomas left.
"What do you mean?" Abigail asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"I mean, shouldn't you be more upset by Thomas' departure?" said Gwen, looking Abigail in the face. "So, okay yes, he did kill me and Noah, but he was still your father. Shouldn't you feel something?"
Abigail considered this for a moment before answering. "You're probably right Gwen." she said. "And I do feel something, I feel anger and betrayal. Dorian killed my mother and dad still chose to stay with him. I just choose not to express my emotion, that's all."
Gwen shrugged and did not press the matter further. There was another problem to deal with, aside from the threat of Dorian. There were now four former campers lying in freezer boxes at the morgue. A decision needed to be made on what to do with Katie, Izzy, Harold, and Justin's bodies. This issue was also bothering Gwen and she knew it was on the minds of the others too. It was costing them to keep their friends in the morgue, but it would cost even more to pay for four funerals. And there was no guarantee Chris could get the favor he had for Gwen's. Gwen called a meeting of the remaining campers to discuss the issue, but as they sat down to do so, something strange was occurring in freezer box 234.
Izzy's green eyes snapped open meeting nothing but darkness. The air around her felt cold and it stung her lungs as she inhaled. Gasping, she tried to move, only to find cold steel walls on either side of her. What the hell is going on? she thought. Where am I? If this is some kind of joke to get back at me for all my craziness, I'm gonna kill someone. And then she remembered. The surgery! I was in surgery, helping out Harold. Why am I in this cold metal box then? No! I can't have died, can I? Even as she thought this, she answered herself. Of course she had died, it was the only logical explanation for why she was in a freezer box. She wondered if Harold was okay, hoping he was, hoping she had not died in vain. Then, suddenly, panic gripped her. She was trapped in a freezer box, alive! Not the best place for a claustrophobic to be.
Izzy struggled, kicking against the back wall of the box, hoping to push open the door. As she pushed off, her head slammed into the door, which was obviously locked. Shit, she thought, now what? How the hell am I supposed to get out of here? The voices in her head could provide no answer. She was stuck, with no way out.
"Well, this is just great." she muttered. "What good is coming back from the dead, if you can't get out of the goddamn freezer box!" She had noticed one thing in her struggles, she could move again. Her spine was no longer encased in a brace, which was good.
Izzy's thoughts drifted to Owen. A chill ran down her spine, as she realized she would never see him again. She was alive, but trapped, and would most certainly run out of air at some point. I'm sorry Owen, she thought, I'm sorry we never got to get married, or have kids, or anything.
Just then, the freezer box door was wrenched open. Izzy instantly lay still, pretending to still be dead. The mortician slid her out and muttered, "Well my dear, looks like your going to the grave." Izzy opened her eyes and stared up at the mortician. He looked back at her for a second before jumping back from her tray, hitting one of the tables with a loud crash.
"Doc, you okay?" came Owen's voice from outside the room. Izzy slid off the tray and pulled the mortician to his feet.
"Yeah, he's good." she called back, bracing for the explosion of the doors.
"Izzy? Is that you?" Owen asked, peeking through the doors.
"Yes Owen, it's me." said Izzy, barely able to contain her emotions. "I woke up in the damn freezer box."
Owen burst through the doors, grabbed Izzy, and pulled her into a powerful hug. "Oh, Izzy." he sobbed. "You were dead, I lost you. Don't ever leave me like that again."
"Owen, Owen, it's okay, I won't" Izzy said, patting him on the head. He set her back on the floor and pulled the mortician to his feet. He then grabbed Izzy again and carried her back to the main room. As he entered, there were gasps of surprise from the others, which turned to elated screams.
Owen set Izzy down, noticing for the first time that she no longer had her back brace on. "Izzy, your back is healed!" he shouted.
"Yes, I know." she said, smiling. "I'm guessing it happened when my soul was stuck back into my body."
"That makes sense." said a tearful Noah. "All injury and damage is erased when a soul is returned to its body."
"Well whatever the reason, E-Scope is back." said Izzy, referring to her alter ego Kaleidoscope. "And this time I'm back for good."
A/N: Okay, just so we're clear, I'm pretty sure Izzy is not actually claustrophobic. I thought I heard on an episode that she was, but I think I was confusing her with Gwen, which is stupid, because they're nothing alike so how the hell do you confuse them, right? Anyway, I didn't change it because I think it adds to the story and even if she wasn't claustrophobic, she just woke up in a freezer box. I'm pretty sure that would freak anybody out, pre-determined phobias not withstanding.
