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Shadows, they hovered above her in the blinding light. One of them spoke, his voice muffled as if he were underwater. Her body jolted, moving as she struggled against something. The voices grew louder, and eventually, they were just above her. She could barely make out the words, but she heard one phrase: 'Send her out.' What did that mean? Send who out? Send who where? Were they talking about her?

Eventually, something grabbed at her jaw, causing her to struggle more. She clenched it, tasting blood the minute something got to close to her teeth - a finger perhaps? Did she bite someone? She didn't hear a sound of pain as if she had. However, she felt the pain. Had she just bit her lip as she snapped at the foreign object? Eventually, her mouth was pried open, and something was forced down her throat. Water followed shortly after, and she felt as if she were drowning. She gargled, her body trashed...'

The brunette woke up with a start, her body flying up into a sitting position. Sweat practically dripping down her body as she rubbed at her face, her eyes fluttering open and closed. Her mind felt clouded as if the dream had been something more. Her head felt heavy, her body ached, and yet...she felt light as a feather. Her eyes moved towards the alarm clock on the side of the bed, eyes widening as she took in the numbers that laid before her. "Shit," she hissed out, knowing full well that she was about to be late for work. She kicked the covers off, flipping her body and standing...except, she didn't stand. Her legs felt like jelly as she fell to the floor, grabbing onto the comforter. What the hell was wrong with her? Slowly she rose to her feet, her legs shaking as she made her way towards the bathroom.

The light switch flicked on, and her eyes widened at the sight of her in the medicine cabinet mirror. Her lip was split, her eyes were dark, and there were bruises. What the hell happened to her? She hadn't done anything after she got home from drinks with Demetri. Were these just bruises from the day that she hadn't realized she got? As she drew closer, her hands grabbed onto either side of the sink, her face drawing near the glass. What did she even do yesterday? She could barely remember what had happened; the only thing that was still fresh was the drinks. But what about their workday? She swallowed, turning on the faucet and threw some water into her face. The coldness of it sending a chill down her spine, her throat tightening as if remembering something. Was her body reacting to her nightmare?

Knowing she didn't have time for a shower, she threw her hair up into a bun. Brushing her teeth quickly, she returned to her bedroom and started to dress for the day. Her body was slowly regaining its muscle capacity, and eventually, she no longer felt like she had gotten off a plane a few minutes prior. The last time she had felt like this was her graduation week from university when she had gone to Hawaii with some friends to celebrate. She had serious jet-lag for a few hours. She grabbed her phone, tucking it away as she grabbed her keys and wallet from the glass bowl by the front door, as well as her bag from the chair before heading out. And walking straight into someone. Everything fell to the floor between them, and she almost lost her footing herself.

"Fuck, I am so sorry..." she breathed out, slowly crouching down as she gathered her own things. The male was quick to follow suit, pushing his glasses up the rim of his nose as he grabbed something. Once everything was returned to its rightful place, she slowly stood, him following a few seconds later. She realized then that she didn't recognize him, and he seemed to see that unasked question shinning in her eyes. He smiled, holding out his hand as he introduced himself, mentioning that he moved in place next to her. She nodded her head, smiling as she shook his hand. Was that a prick? She questioned seconds after a small pinching was felt as their hands touched. "Lara, it's nice to meet you. I didn't realize that Mr. Collins was moving out," she said, shrugging her back further up her shoulder. "Sorry...I have to go; it was nice meeting you, though," she said before she turned to walk for the elevator. However, her name sounding from his lips stopped her, sending a shiver down his spine. In the back of her mind, he sounded familiar. She slowly turned around, raising an eyebrow at him before noticing he was holding something out to her.

"What's that?" she questioned, causing him to laugh as he said he didn't know that it had her name on it. She drew closer, plucking it from his hand as she looked down at it. Lara Shaw. Take every five hours when the mind feels cloudy. She frowned down at it, allergy medicine? It was then that she couldn't remember anything about taking this before, but it seemed right. What was wrong with her mind? She frowned, shaking her head before clenching the bottle tighter in her fist. "Thanks," she breathed, turning around and heading for the elevator. She hit the button, turned around and watched as the doors closed, the man still watching her. She felt creeped out, a sinking feeling in her gut made her sick. She shook her head, looking down at the bottle once more before sliding it into her bag.

The drive from her apartment to the station wasn't that bad; it was almost as if it were a ghost town. And eventually, she was parked and heading into the building. The receptionist looked at her weirdly as she said her greeting and headed further into the building. It was then that a bunch of familiar faces came into view, and silence fell through the room. One even said her name in questioning. "Morning," she said in greeting, it was then that a friend grabbed her arm and looked at her. She frowned, not realizing anything was wrong before she was pulled into a hug.

They said they had been worried about her, that she had been a missing person for a while. They thought she had gotten infected, or worse, killed. She frowned, "Infected? What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned, but the person shook their head, the mentioned calling Demetri. She frowned, "Call him? Shouldn't he be here by now?" she asked, the friend guiding her towards the interrogation room and putting her in there. Except, it wasn't the side she usually stood on, but instead, the one where the perp sat in. She turned towards the door, about to ask what they thought they were doing before the door was shut. Without even a thought, she sunk down into the seat, placing her bag on the table and grabbing her phone out. It was then that she realized the thing was dead, and she groaned.

"Great...just great..."