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      "No... no no... no." I cried, rolling over onto my hands and knees. I pounded the floor of the barn. "No no no no NO!" I sat there for a moment, pressing my head against the floor, tears streaming toward the floor. "This can't be happening." I cried. "I refuse to believe this!"

   "Oh my God. Em? Is that you?"

    "No! No no NO NO NO!" I stayed on the floor, continuing to pound my fists into the ground. I was still wearing the same clothes. The same jacket. The same scarf. I was still a little damp from playing with the water guns. The necklace dangled in front of my face. My hand grasped at my wrist as I felt for my bracelet. It was all still there. So why the Hell am I back here??

   "Em! Stop!" My friend grabbed at my shoulders. I froze, gritting my teeth.

   "How long..?"

   "We thought you were dead." She said, sobbing.

    "How long?!"

    "It's been almost 2 years!"

"No!"

     I clutched at my chest. Two years?! It hadn't even been four months on the Sunny! I tried to think about just how long I had been there, but I couldn't remember. I started hyperventilating. My heart felt like it was trying to burst out of my ribcage. My whole body hurt, like I had just been mauled by a bear.

I looked up at her, concern laced all over her face. She helped me up and I looked in the mirror on the wall. I had lost so much weight in my face, but my hair had gotten only a little longer, indicating it had only been a few months.

    "What are you doing?!" She exclaimed as I pulled up my shirt. My scars sat against my tanned skin — proof that my journey was more than just a dream or some kind of delusion. An outline of abs shown under my stomach, showing that I really had been training hard.

   I grabbed the mirror and looked at myself closer. You shouldn't look like that. This isn't you anymore. I threw the mirror to the ground, making my friend jump. "AGH!" I screamed, tears still streaming down my face.

   "Em, you're scaring me!"

   "I don't want to be HERE!" I yelled, throwing anything I could get my hands on.

   "I'm gonna call the ambulance!"

    "No! No no no NO!" I yelled, punching the wall. Fuck. My haki didn't work! That hurt! "Fuck!" I growled.

    "Hey there, a friend of mine who went missing two years ago is here! I think she is having a mental breakdown? Or worse? I don't know, she keeps throwing and hitting things."

    "Shut up!" I growled, dropping to my knees. I grabbed my head and squeezed my eyes shut. "Whoever the Hell did this! Take me back! I want to go back!" I yelled.

    "Who did what? Take you back to where?!"

   "Do you hear me?! How cruel is that?! Why would you bring me back like this?!" I cried, hoping, praying that somehow, they would hear my pleas.

"Yes, please hurry! She has probably been through so much!"

"Take me BACK! I don't want to be here!" I howled. "NO! I DON'T ACCEPT THIS!"

I wasn't listening to her. I didn't give a shit about what anybody thought here. I just wanted to go back. I cried and screamed until I heard the sirens of an ambulance pulling up. Fuck. Calm down, dude. I peaked out from my arm.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. The flashing lights, the sound of paramedics rushing into the barn. The man who sat before me, trying to get my attention.

"Ma'am. Do you know where you are right now?"

I sighed, my shoulders slumping as I sat up. "Unfortunately, yes." The paramedic shined a light in my eyes.

"Do you know your name?"

"Yes, I know my Goddamned name!"

"Can you please state your name and where you are?"

"Yes." I played along, answering the guy's questions as tears endlessly streamed down my face. I grasped my scarf and buried my face in it, breathing in the smell of salt that still held in the fabric. It made me feel a little better as I imagined myself back on the Sunny.

"I think she hurt her hand too. And she has a bunch of scars on her that still look pretty new!" My friend said. I glared at her from under my scarf.

"Hey, do me a favor and BUTT OUT." I sniped. I knew she was just trying to help, but I was so overwhelmed. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to go home.

"You seem pretty hostile."

"I'm just upset."

"Why is that?" He asked as he checked my hand.

"M' whole world got turned upside down."

"That tends to be a pretty common reaction for people who have been dumped off. Tell me, were you abducted?"

"Doesn't matter." I said, averting my eyes. I flinched as he poked around my hand. It was pretty swollen and black and blue.

"Looks like you may have fractured your hand or your wrist. I think it's best if you come to the hospital. I want to get you hooked up with a shrink while we are at it."

"Why the Hell would I need that?!" I shouted.

"Mandatory psych eval."

"Fuck that! I'm not a psych case!"

"You were freaking out a minute ago! What about her other injuries, sir?" My friend asked.

"Dude, shut up! They are healed. The scars are old! See?!" I said, lifting up my shirt and pulling the scarf away from my neck. The scar tissue was still pretty new, but the wounds were healed.

"Hmm, we are going to want to get a full work up to get an idea of what is going on here. The chief of police is on his way to deal with the missing person's case we have for you."

"I don't need this bullshit." I griped. "What if I refuse to go with you?"

"Well, if you refuse, then we will have to wait for the cops to bring you there instead. May as well just hop in. It will be quicker."

    "No!" I exclaimed.

    "Why not?!"

     "Not if you are gonna cut off my clothes! I remember the last time I was brought in they did that!"

     "You don't have any outstanding urgent trauma that I can see, so we won't be cutting anything off unless something egregious comes about."

    "Good. Don't touch my scarf, or my jacket, or my jewelry." If you guys touch even one article of clothing on me, I will beat you within an inch of your life.

"We don't plan on it."

"Don't TOUCH me! I can get in there myself!"

I can't believe this. Please, let me go back.

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