{Hey, so slight trigger warning for this chapter for possibly graphic descriptions of nightmares.}

It was with great frustration and irritation that I came to the realization, as we all stood in the way-too-small kitchen discussing what we had just learned, that I had homework due by midnight.

Yes, despite literally everything the boys and I owned and did being off the books (like it had been since Central had taken us from our families when we were in our tweens), we still had to attend school. Or at least, I did. The boys had all graduated. I still had another year. I attended an online charter academy, which was the excuse that Central had fed my parents when they took us. I was to be taken to a school for gifted students. I visited them for a few weeks every summer, but the rest of the summer I was supposedly padding my resume with extra cirriculars like volunteering. I don't know why I needed to go to school. I know, every kid says that, but seriously. My job is to fight bad guys defending a thing that defies any and all science. Why do I need to know calculus?

But, whether I needed it or not, I had to do it. I wormed my way out of the kitchen, retreating to my bedroom. I opened up my Macbook, and signed onto my school's website. I had an essay for Modern Korean, a history paper, and mathwork. I'd already finished the chemistry homework, thank the Lord Almighty. I could already feel the headache settling in as I tried to decide which one to start first. I clicked on the math homework, figuring making numbers work was easier with a migraine than making words make sense about a topic that didn't make sense to me. I some classical music in an attempt to both help me focus and to soothe my headache.

The next few hours ticked by at a crawl. The numbers didn't want to compute properly, and I had to redo the same problem six times before I realized my pained brain had misread the 6x as a 8x. I had the screen brightness as low as it could go, and looking at it still hurt my eyes. But finally, my calculus homework was done. I clicked submit, and was briefly gripped with the horrible thought that I wouldn't have enough time to complete the other two assignments, since it felt like I'd spent half the day on that one problem alone, but a quick look at the clock revealed that if I half-assed it, I could get both the other assignments done in time. I wasn't too worried. My half- was most people's full-throttle.

If only my damn headache would go away! In my pain, it took me a minute to remember the healing tattoo on my forearm. I pressed it, and audibly sighed when the pain vanished. After that, it was easy to sink into my essays. The hours went by much faster now, as I double checked sources and rewrote the same paragraph several times. I finished them both in the nick of time, submitting them just before midnight. My eyes were sore from staring at a screen so much. I rubbed them and sunk back into my chair, feeling the relief and relaxation wash over me. I didn't even realize when I fell asleep.

But oh boy did I realize when I woke up!

There was a crash, and suddenly I was jerked awake as my chair hit the floor and I was thrown unceremoniously onto the ground. Adrenaline flooded my blood and I was instantly awake, but the dead quiet of the night and the lack of anyone trying to kill me led me to believe I had just shifted wrong and knocked the chair over in my sleep. I pulled myself to my feet and looked at my clock. 4:07 am. The boys must've all been sleeping. I crept out of my room into the dark hall. I heard loud snores from the boys' rooms. That reassured me. I grabbed my bathrobe from my room and slipped into the bathroom. I hadn't showered in at least a day.

The warm water was soothing. I washed the sweat from my skin and the sleep from my eyes, and worked the knots out of my hair with generous amounts of conditioner. I made the distinct point to not think about much of anything, otherwise this whole relaxation thing would become rather pointless. When I got out, my skin was a rosy pink to match my old bathrobe, and I was feeling more relaxed than I had in days. A relaxation that vanished as soon as I opened the door as saw a man standing there.

He was clearly not expecting to be caught. He jumped