When the sun had risen high over the trees, Thomas woke. He straightened his head as he looked around the hospital room. Heidi lay sound asleep in her hospital bed with her arm hanging over the edge. He laughed a little to himself at the soft snores that came from her. The little digital clock on the table read 12:31. He ran his hands over his face as he compared the world to what he once knew. He pulled out the little pamphlet that Ms Grey had given him the day before and opened it up, skimming over the page.

“Coping with Rip Van Winkle Syndrome.”

The inside of the pamphlet had a timeline that stretched all the way across the pages, giving a quick overview of what has happened in history. From the year that the colonists settled in North America, to gaining their independence, all the way up to present day. He tossed the pamphlet on the small table that sat next to him and stood, stretching his arms up, allowing the blanket that covered him to fall to the ground. He picked up the fallen blanket and set it on the bed before quietly exiting the room. Outside the room, hospital staff worked diligently as they took care of their patients. Thomas nodded at one of the nurses who smiled at him, waving good morning. The police officers who had been guarding the room the day before had been excused, leaving him as Heidi’s sole protection. He looked down the hall, trying to remember the way to the cafeteria for a late breakfast. Quietly he followed the signs that led him down stairs and to the front desk. He sighed as he neared the desk, where a series of shouts drew his attention. A young man in an expensive looking t-shirt and sunglasses leaned over the desk with his hands on the counter as he argued with the woman at the counter.

“What do you mean I'm not on the ‘Approved Visitors List?!” He shouted, making the woman at the front desk jump in shock. “Since when do you need to be on a list to visit a friend?!”

“Sir, this is a very sensitive case. Please be patient until Miss Butler is released. For now, only law enforcement and immediate family has permission to be allowed into her room.” The woman informed him almost pleadingly.

“This is absolute bullshit! I bet she didn’t even make this stupid list!” The young man shouted. “I need to talk to her! It’s my fault that she was taken in the first place! Just let me talk to her!”

“Excuse me.” Thomas said, walking up to the angry young man and placing a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.

“Do not touch me man.” The boy snapped as he slapped off Thomas’s hand, glaring at him.

“You said it’s your fault Heidi was taken?” Thomas all but growled. The boy’s face turned from anger into a look of cautious confusion.

“Who the fuck are you?” He sneered.

“I’m her Familiar.” Thomas replied shortly, getting annoyed with the young man’s short tempered attitude.

The boy’s eyes grew wide in shock as his mouth dropped open slightly.

“Oh fuck.” he muttered. The boy’s eyes flickered past Thomas towards the stairs that he had just descended. Quickly he lunged forward, making for the stairs that Thomas had just come from, with Thomas quickly chasing after him. From behind him he heard the lady at the front desk shouting for security.

“Heidi!” The boy shouted as he reached the top of the stairs, wrenching open the door to the hall that her room sat off of.

“Heidi where are you!” He shouted again as Thomas grabbed hold of his shoulder, slamming him against the wall, making several nurses shout in shock.

“Back the fuck up man, before I hurt you!” The dark skinned boy snarled. “I’m not somebody you want to fuck with!”

“You need to leave!” Thomas growled, tightening his grip on him.

“Pharaoh?”

Thomas turned his head as Heidi stepped out of her hospital room in confusion.

“Thomas, he’s a friend, let him go!” She said as she quickly stepped towards them. Thomas hesitated, before Pharaoh shoved him back, glaring at him before turning to Heidi, quickly wrapping her up in a tight hug.

“Fuck Wendy’s, you’ve had me worried to death, what the hell happened!?” He asked pulling her out in front of him, quickly looking her over.

“Ma'am, is everything alright?” A security guard asked as he climbed the top of the stairs, breathing heavily.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Heidi assured him, “I’m so sorry for the commotion.”

The security guard nodded cautiously, looking from her to Thomas who simply nodded, confirming her claims.

“Come on, let’s talk in the room.” She told him quietly, herding him back into her room with Thomas in tow.

Once both boys had entered the room, Heidi shut the door behind them, hoping to give them all a little more privacy.

“Did Ren come with you?” Heidi asked hopefully as she sat down, tired from the random burst of excitement.

“No, he’s at the police station giving his statement.” Pharaoh said as he stood in front of her. “The police are questioning everybody who went to the party.” He told her, as she closed her eyes in frustration. She was hoping that she could find a way to keep it all quiet.

“Was it that scarecrow fuck?” Pharaoh asked looking up at her.

Heidi nodded quietly as Thomas spoke up.

“What did you mean by “it’s your fault Heidi was taken”?” He asked again, making Heidi snap her head from Thomas to Pharaoh who looked down as he crossed his arms.

“Cause if I had just stayed with her that night none of this would have happened.” He said quietly, leaning against her bed. “Ren’s been a wreck since last night, he's been worried sick.” He told her softly. He let out a huff of a laugh, smiling softly down at Heidi as he continued.

“Ren’s blaming himself, I’m blaming myself, I guess that’s the official tell for it being nobody’s fault, but I still feel like it’s mine.”

“Why is Ren blaming himself?” Heidi asked.

“Because he let you leave when the gorgon showed up.” Pharaoh told her rubbing a hand over his head messing with his hair.

“What's a gorgon?” Thomas asked quietly, looking to Heidi in confusion.

“Her name is Kate.” Heidi told him simply, as if that would give him any clarification.

“So they haven’t found the guy yet?” Pharaoh asked. His jaw tightening again as she shook her head no.

“Heidi, I’m going to find that fuck and I’m going to kill him, I swear.” Pharaoh muttered, promising her.

“Pharaoh, it’s alright.” Heidi assured him. “The police will find them.”

“Them?” Pharaoh interjected, cutting her off. “There's more than the scarecrow prick?!”

Heidi nodded, thinking back to the voice of the second person. Goosebumps rose on her skin as she remembered the voice that showed no remorse as he ordered her life to end.

“I never saw the one pulling the strings.” She told them as she crossed her own arms. It was a natural movement that she did whenever she felt insecure. “It scares me because they are still out there and I don’t even know who to watch out for.” She said quietly.

“You don’t have to worry anymore.” Thomas reassured her.

“Yeah. Cause I’m going to find them.” Pharaoh added in. Thomas dug his hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out the piles of pamphlets that Ms Grey had given him, looking through them until he found the one he had in mind. He smiled slightly as he handed it out to Pharaoh, who took it looking down at it in confusion.

Revenge Killings: It’s not ok.

“Oh don’t act like you don’t want these fucks wiped off the face of the earth.” Pharaoh snapped, tossing the pamphlet in one of the chairs.

“I do, but they have killed who knows how many people. I want them to answer for their sins first.” Thomas told him with a straight face.

“Yeah, whatever.” Pharaoh muttered as he stepped towards the door, looking back at Heidi.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Heidi.” He said before opening the door. “Let me know when they release you, Ren will want to see you soon.”

Heidi nodded, suddenly realizing that she no longer had her cell phone. The last time that she had it, she was using it for a flashlight, trying to find Pharaoh’s keys.

“Oh, Pharaoh?” She asked, stopping him as he stepped through the door. He looked back silently, waiting for her to finish her question.

“When you and Ren went back to the car that night, you didn’t happen to see my phone anywhere did you?” She asked hopefully.

He shook his head as he thought back to that night.

“No. We called you for hours. At first we thought maybe you walked home, but when Ren found my keys in the gutter, he knew that something was wrong. If your phone was around there, we would have found it.” He told her.

“Maybe the police have it.” He suggested. Heidi nodded her head as Thomas agreed with him.

“I took them back to the field where it happened, if they found it there they probably seized it for evidence.”

Heidi nodded with a sigh. She supposed she was too hopeful that her phone would magically appear. She would have to look online for a new one when she arrived home.

“Thanks for coming, Pharaoh.” She said, forcing a smile onto her face. “I’ll see you around.”

“See you around Wendy’s.”

“So I suppose he was a friend of yours?” Thomas said as he watched Pharaoh cross the parking lot from the hospital room window.

“Yes, surprisingly.” Heidi told him as she sat back down on the bed. “He’s the Familiar of another friend of mine.” She said quietly, wishing that Ren had come to visit her.

“He’s a Familiar?” Thomas echoed, still watching as Pharaoh slid into the driver's seat of Ren’s Rav4. He wasn’t sure if his dislike for the familiar was because of his first impression of him, or simply because of his inborn protectiveness for Heidi. Either way he still didn’t like him.

“Yes, but I think it’s been a long time since their crisis. I think that’s why he doesn’t seem like it.” She told him as she sat cross legged on the bed. Heidi fidgeted with the ends of her braids as she debated asking Thomas some of the questions that weighed on her mind.

“Hey Thomas?”

Thomas looked up over his shoulder at her, anticipating her approaching questions.

“What happened that night? When you came to save me?” She asked, unsure how to phrase her question. He held his stare as she continued, trying to rephrase her question from something so vague.

“How did you end up there? What was all that wind and noise? How did you scare them away so easily?” She asked, the questions now pouring from her mouth. Thomas turned to her and stepped away from the window, leaning his head up towards the ceiling, trying to think of how to answer her.

“It was strange. It was like waking up after being asleep for years, but this sense of urgency hits you and suddenly there is nothing more important than finding your Ward and making sure that they are safe.” He told her.

“It didn’t feel like I wasn’t alive before that. It didn’t feel like I had been killed so long ago. It just felt like suddenly, there I was.”

“What was all that noise?” She asked, thinking back to the typhoon sounding storm that she overheard before she had blacked out . “There was so much wind and thunder. It sounded like a tornado almost?”

Thomas smiled awkwardly as he waved his hand in a quick motion out in front of him, as if backhanding the air in front of him. Heidi gasped as a quick burst of wind shot out from this quick movement, blowing her hair back with great force. The door shook in it’s frame as the gust slammed against it.

“Looks like now I really am a witch.” He muttered with a sad smile.

It was rare for Familiars to be born again as people, but it was even more so for them to be granted abilities. More often than not, it was the more common Familiars that had an extra ability. She had seen some that could fly, some that had the ability to turn invisible, she had even seen one on the news that was able to communicate telepathically with others, but she had never seen anything like this.

“So all that wind?” Heidi started in disbelief “That was you?”

Thomas just nodded his head.

“Miss Butler?”

Thomas looked up over Heidi’s shoulder to see her doctor opening the door and sticking his head in.

“How are we feeling today?” He asked with a smile as he opened the door further and stepping inside. “I see that you’ve had a decent bit of excitement today?” He said, referring to Pharaoh.

“Yes, I apologize by the way.” Heidi said quietly, embarrassed of her friend’s brash personality.

“It’s alright, I can understand how some people would be concerned for your well being. We often get very agitated people in our lobby.” He said with a smile. “I’d like to run a few final tests before we release you.”

“Of course Dr. Moore.” She said as she stood, looking over to Thomas who instinctively crossed the small room, ready to follow after his Ward. “Lead the way.”

As they followed Dr. Moore down the hall, Thomas looked down at his hands where he had grabbed Pharaoh. The skin on his hands was red, blistered and burned. He quietly slipped his hands into his pockets as Heidi looked back at him with a smile. He smiled back.