Paranoid
~ Black Sabbath

"All day long I think of things
But nothing seems to satisfy
Think I'll lose my mind
If I don't find something to pacify

Can you help me
Occupy my brain?
Oh yeah

I need someone to show me
The things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make
True happiness, I must be blind"

CHAPTER 5: SHE WAS WITH HIM

        Nadine woke with a start, looking around the dark room she was situated in. She groaned after realizing she had slept the entire day away. Her stomach growled and then came her second realization. She didn't eat the vegetables Grace had prepared for her.

        She pouted, rolling over and off the bed in a thud. She was too tired to notice this morning but the room she had slept in was an ordinary boys bedroom. There was a drawing of a hand on the wall and books on the desk beside the bed. She wondered who had slept in the room before her.

        She opened the door quietly and stepped out of the room, looking both ways before doing so. Going down the stairs, she did her best not to let the stairs creek. Wren must be off with the coven again. She's been spending a lot of time there.

        She turned a corner and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a cup and filling it with water from the pitcher in the fridge. She slowly drank the water before looking around, noticing that the house was completely quiet. Too quiet.

        "Okay, I'm officially creeped out." She looked around before hearing a door open. The voices didn't sound like anyone from the house that she had met but it was probably nothing to worry about. She walked quietly towards Five's room to wait for him until he got back when she stopped.

        Around the corner, she heard footsteps and two people talking. A man and a woman. The same voices as the ones from the- oh shit.

        Nadine took off in a sprint, hearing footsteps going towards where the voices were. She had to warn whoever it is. She turned a corner and faced a hallway. In front of her was a man in all black clothing and in front of him was the two masked people who had attacked her the night before.

        She ran to him as the guns cocked and grabbed his forearm, putting her other arm out in front of them. "Stop!" She spoke moving her hand to the side as the bullets they shot lodged into the wall. "We have to go. Now." The two took off in a sprint, the shooters following them closely behind. The man took two knifes out and threw them, the sound of them banging off the masks being heard.

        "Knives. You must be Diego then." She yelled as they ran down a hallway and hid behind a wall. Diego put his hand out in front of her to push her closer to the wall and when the man rounded the corner, he smacked the gun down and flipped it out of the shooters hands.

        Diego jumped up and smashed his head on the mask causing her to hiss in pain for him. "Shoot him!" The man under the mask screamed at his partner. "Get out of the way, dumbass!" The woman yelled before standing up and aiming.

        Nadine stepped out from behind the wall and put her palm out towards the woman. "Melt." She folded her fingers into a ball and the woman watched as her gun turned into nothing.

        Diego kicked the man in the stomach and took off down the hall, grabbing Nadine's forearm on the way. "Who the hell are you?!" He screamed as they ran towards the balcony of their living room.

        "I'm Nadine, it's nice to meet you!" She yelled back as they jumped over the banister.

        Diego dove onto the couch, grunting and rolling off to the ground. Nadine fell until an inch above the ground, her hair traveling up as she caught herself in midair. The man grabbed her arm and pulled her down against a table behind one of the couches. "Did you see her? She was with him." The female shooter commented.

        Diego moved slightly when he heard the two walk in before more shots went off. The man leant over the girl, putting his hands around her head to make sure she didn't get caught. "What are you doing here!?" He whispered to her. "Waiting for Five! Take it up with him!" She spoke quietly back. The man rolled his eyes when suddenly the shooting stopped.

         Nadine peaked around a corner to see Luther grab the woman and throw her on to the ground. She smiled slightly, pumping her fist and whispering a small "yes!" Allison kicked the gun out of the man's hand and kicked him in the stomach before he could pull the trigger on Luther, but he immediately started fighting back.

        Allison got in a couple good kicks before she was lifted into the air by her neck. She struggled to breathe, grasping at the hands. "Go upstairs, now!" Diego shouted before jumping up from beside Nadine and immediately starting to fight the man. "Let her go!"

        Nadine nodded before jumping and sprinting to the stairs. She knew she would just get in the way if they continued to fight like this, her powers were at the very end of their time limit right now. I really have to listen to Wren when she talks about training on locking in energy.

        Nadine ran to the stairs and hid behind them, breathing heavily. Her hands started to shake as she tried to contact Wren. "Come on. Come on." She whispered to herself.

        Nadine wasn't focused on anything except getting into contact with her spirit, so she didn't notice when Vanya was there until she was slapped and glass broke.

        Nadine thought about getting up and started to but then stopped when Luther walked in. "Hey, asshole." Nadine launched into another sprint down one of the hallways when she ran into Allison who was being chased by the gunwoman.

        "Go! Go!" Allison pushed on her shoulders as they sprinted together. The two ran down a set of stairs into the houses basement, hiding being a pool table. "Go over there and run up the stairs while I'm distracting her." Nadine shook her head no but Allison nodded. "Please, just do as I say."

        Nadine stared into the woman's eyes for a second before getting serious and nodding. The female gunman ran downstairs firing shots everywhere, making Allison push the girl towards the exit. Nadine ran as fast as possible out of the downstairs and back into the long hallways, willing herself not to turn back. She's going to be okay.

        After a couple wrong turns, she found one of the staircases. She ran up but something grabbed her ankle, forcing her to drop. She yelped as she smacked her head hard on the stairs.

        Nadine looked back, noticing that it was the man in the mask. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her the rest of the way down, her head banging on another step and her body sore from the drag. "No! Please!" She screamed out, kicking the man in the crotch on the way.

        He stopped for a second, bending down to hold himself. Nadine got up slowly and leant against a wall for support as she walked down it. Blood trickled from the hits to her head and she felt dizzy. "Wren, please." She whispered, grunting as she held the side of her torso.

        She heard steps behind her and started shuffling across the wall faster, willing herself to have more energy. "Wren!" She screamed, starting to cry. Her cries got louder as the footsteps drew closer. A sob slipped out as someone grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face them.

        "Five!" She turned her head, trying to find anybody that could help her. She looked into the eyes of the blue bear mask before the man injected something into her neck. She collapsed, her bloodied hand falling onto the carpet and staining it.

~~~~~

        Nadine woke up in pain. Her whole body felt exhausted and her power felt completely dried up. Her head pounded, progressively getting worse as she squinted her eyes open.

        She lifted her head off her shoulder and tried to touch it but couldn't move her arms. She was tied to a chair. Suddenly, she remembered everything. A stinging in the middle of her forehead caused her to hiss.

        "Nadine, be quiet. Pretend like you're asleep. No matter what, do not wake up." The girl looked to her right and noticed Klaus tied to a chair as well, blood on his abdomen and face. She nodded, not having enough energy to deny it.

        Her eyes shut quickly before accepting the sleepiness in her head. She definitely had a concussion and her side was burning. She couldn't feel her head for blood but she knows it's there. The sound of footsteps coming back in to the room broke up her moment of recollection.

         The two gunmen stood by the wall in the hotel talking. Nadine couldn't help the feeling of hopelessness that resided in her stomach. Wren hadn't been back yet and if she did, she wouldn't be able to help her. No one can.

        Her shoulders ducked as she started to cry silently. No one was coming to save them. She looked up to the right at Klaus who smiled empathetically at her.

        "Maybe you're not hitting him hard enough?" The man suggested to his coworker. "Me?" She turned towards him in disbelief. "You're the one with the stupid orthopedic bracelet."

        "I told you already, it's just for support." He defended himself. Nadine was scared. She had lost a lot of blood from the hit to her head and her side was growing more painful with every hour she spent in here.

        Her powers weren't useful because she was on the verge of passing out. And she still couldn't see Wren. She turned to her right and noticed Klaus making an uncomfortable face. He was breathing heavier and looking behind him at nothing.

         Nadine felt a shiver go down her spine randomly and when she looked up a little she saw someone else. He was younger than Klaus but older than her and wore all black with short dark hair. "Withdrawal. It's starting now, isn't it? Must be. Otherwise, who's the dead babushka?" He spoke.

        The man glanced to the side at her and noticed her eyes on him. His eyebrows furrowed at her. "I don't know but it's driving me crazy. The bitch won't shut up!"

        The blue bear man told him to watch his mouth and to stay looking forward, making Nadine roll her eyes. "Stay calm, Klaus." The man spoke. "If not for you, for her." He motioned to Nadine.

        The girl smiled at him and that's when he realized. "Wait, can you see me?" Nadine gave a small nod but winced as her head pounded from the motion. "Don't move, it's okay. My name is Ben. I'm his brother." He opened his mouth to say something else but furrowed his eyebrows.

        "Are those my pajamas?" She smiled in response, a small apology for getting blood all over them. "Just stay still. Don't move. Pretend you're asleep." Nadine looked into his eyes with tears threatening to spill. "I know you're scared. It's going to be okay."

        Nadine looked at him one last time before closing her eyes again. The woman and the man continued speaking to each other. Nadine didn't care enough to try to understand what they were saying.

        She heard footsteps beside her and in front of her. "Don't you think she should be awake by now?" The woman spoke from behind her. The man shrugged. "She did hit her head pretty hard a few times." The man bent down and picked up a coat, handing it to the woman who started going through it.

        "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait..." Klaus tried to stop them. "What're you doing? That's mine. That's my personal stuff." The man tried to explain to them. "What do we have here?" The woman took out a small baggy of powder.

        "Let me see that." She tossed it to the man who started looking at it. "Be careful with that! It's my asthma medication." Klaus lied very poorly. Nadine would've made fun of him in any other situation but this wasn't just any other situation.

        "Yeah! Now we're getting somewhere." The man spoke again. He dropped the baggys and started crushing the drugs under his feet. "No! Hey! Hold on!" Klaus screamed. "We can have a conversation. We're adults."

        "Okay, you want more?!" The gunman stomped on more of the drugs. "No! No! Stop! Please listen! Listen. I can get you cash. Amputee hookers, whatever." Nadine snorted, forgetting she was supposed to be asleep.

        The man stopped and stared at her for a second but the woman didn't hear it as she paid attention to Klaus. He picked up the bar of chocolate from Klaus' jacket, breaking off a piece and eating it. "Chocolate, Mhmm. You want a piece?" He handed the bar to his partner who ate a piece herself.

        "You gonna tell him that it's special chocolate?" Ben asked Klaus. Nadine perked up after hearing that. "Not until they're high as kites." The man nodded back at him. She smirked at his words. This would be a lot easier if they were under the influence.

        Klaus gasped and blinked, his withdrawal getting worse. "Klaus, be strong." Ben told him again. "This could all be yours for the low, low price of telling us everything." Klaus struggled with the decision, everything mixing in his head.

        Nadine had a random burst of energy, feeling a little bit stronger. "He doesn't know anything. Let him go." She spoke to the blue bear mask. "I'm the one you want." The woman walked over to her slowly. "Good morning, sleepy head." She whispered into her ear making her flinch.

        The female grabbed the back of her head and pulled her hair hard. Nadine screamed in pain, her head tilting up at the ceiling. "Is this what you guys want? You want to die for that boy?" The woman yelled, pulling her hair from the scalp again.

        "I would if I have to." Nadine's face grew serious as she sneered. "Okay, if that's want you want." The woman grabbed the back of her head by the scalp and lifted her fist into the air. "Okay! Okay, fine." Klaus cried gently.

        "No Klaus, it's okay." Nadine reasoned with him. He shook his head, knowing he couldn't let her die. "Okay, I don't... I don't know where Five is. I wasn't lying about that. But I can tell you that he's... hasn't been making much sense since he came back."

        The woman let go of Nadine's head and pushed it forward. She gritted her teeth to try to stop the pain spreading across her head. "Elaborate." The man spoke. "He's just... he's been acting like a lunatic. He's been sitting in this van in front of a lab or something, and... looking for the owner of an eyeball. One of those fake ones."

        Nadine twisted her arms on the chair and bent her fingers to make sure they were still there. "That makes no sense." "Hold on, just hold on. Tell us more about this eye, and why is it so important?" The girl looked up at Klaus with wide eyes. "No, Klaus. Stop."

        Klaus looked at her with apologetic eyes but as he watched the woman get up and start walking over to her his eyes grew. "No! Stop!" The woman back handed Nadine, her head rolling to the side as she grunted in pain. "He said it had something to do with the end of times, or something."

        The two looked at each other before shoving Klaus and Nadine into the closet and leaving the room. Nadine whimpered as her head smacked the ground.

        Wren.

.