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Percabeth just continued staring at him as if he was speaking Martian, while Pexy kept looking between the two of them.

Percy frowned. "Well... that's fine. Can we talk now?"

Pexy broke out of her trance. She shook her head as if snapping out of it.

Percy tilted his head, confused. "What's wrong?"

Pexy sighed. "You know how I told you I was going away for three weeks because I needed a break from school?" She took a moment to look over at Percabeth who simply nodded. "Well, that's exactly what happened. I was forced to take an extended break from school after I almost died on Friday. But I got lucky that the nurse gave me a full checkup, so I'm all right now."

Percy let his arms hang by his sides. He was clearly disappointed, but he didn't show it. Still, he kept quiet.

Pexy stared into his eyes, willing him to understand. "Percy," she said slowly. "This was a serious emergency and the doctors did everything they could do to save my life. But the damage was too much." She reached into her backpack and pulled out two pieces of paper. She handed one to him and went on. "There are pictures of me in this hospital room, on a respirator. There are a lot of bandages, needles everywhere, tubes running every which way. There are machines all over my body."

Percy looked down at the picture of Pexy lying pale and still on the hospital bed. His eyes flickered back to hers.

Pexy met his gaze and sighed. "Percy," she began. "When I went to the hospital, they removed all the monitors, the tubes, and the catheter. I can't feel anything. No pain, no numbness. I've lost the sense of touch and sight. I've completely forgotten what my arms look like, and I can't even remember whether I wore socks or sneakers on my feet. But all those things will disappear soon enough. When I go home, I'll start to feel pain, and the feeling will return. When that happens, they'll tell me that they need to give me more medicine to replace the medication the doctor prescribed. But it won't really matter. At least I won't be able to see."

Percy's jaw dropped at her words, as well as her tone. "But... how? What happened?" he asked softly. "How long have you been here? Is it safe for us to visit you?"

Pexy hesitated, then finally said quietly, "A couple of months now... Maybe more. I'm not sure myself."

His eyes widened in shock. After all these years of living together in a household filled with monsters, the thought of being separated once more terrified him. But what truly shocked him, however, was how easily she admitted that she'd been kidnapped. That she was somehow trapped within this mysterious world where magic was real and everything that surrounded them was fake. That she didn't know who was responsible. That it had nothing to do with her.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "That must've been horrible for you. Do they know who did this to you?"

She shook her head slowly. "Unfortunately, I don't know who did that." She shrugged. "All I know is that a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes came to me, told me she was a friend of yours, and told me that I would never see you again. I never understood why she didn't just tell me that you left me for dead, though. It's not like she'd ever know if I'd find out the truth on my own."

Percy bit his lower lip gently. "I don't understand," he murmured. "Why would a stranger come here and kidnap you? I mean... this isn't a normal kidnapping, right? This seems like an elaborate prank or something. A joke."

Pexy shrugged again. "I don't know," she said softly. "All I know is that this person knows me, and I'm pretty damn sure that I recognize her, too. I've been dreaming about her, waking up screaming, wondering where the heck she is. Sometimes she just stays beside me in my dreams, sometimes she doesn't, but whenever she does, I wake up sweating and shaking."

"It sounds like you've been having nightmares for awhile," Percy said quietly.

She pursed her lips and nodded slightly. "Ever since I went to sleep yesterday night, I've been tossing and turning in my bed, unable to calm down. Even when I try to fall asleep, I find myself awake again, waiting for this girl to appear somewhere nearby and try to convince me that everything is okay. In the end, I just give up and lay there thinking about her... until eventually I fall asleep, only to have my dreams awaken me once again. And that'