Chapter Text
P R O L O G U E
Michaela Stone has lived the last nine years of her life knowing one thing: that she and many others were called to a higher purpose. That she had a death date, and she had to solve the visions, and answer the questions of the voices in order to survive.
She had lost people along the way, sure. But the one constant in her life was her family, guiding her through each season. And when she ultimately survived that day and fulfilled her purpose, they were there to greet her on the other side.
She assumed every question she conjured had been answered, and there was nothing else waiting to be discovered.
But sometimes the universe plays a different card.
Because one question would soon arise that would change her entire life... Or multiple questions for that matter. Questions she never thought she would have to answer for herself. Firstly, where had her best friend Drea gone when she died? And secondly, how was she standing at her doorstep?
“Honey, who are you talking to?”
This was the last thing she remembered saying before her world turned upside down.
She made her way to the front door of her and her husbands home after feeling a slight draft through the kitchen. She knew her daughter had to be holding it open. She sighed, annoyed by the amount of times she had to tell her daughter not to talk to strangers.
But what she saw however when she walked towards the foyer, was something... someone... she never thought she’d see again.
At least in this lifetime.
She stopped in her tracks, locking eyes with the tall woman in front of her. Her sweet, honey brown eyes stared back at her, her features explicitly distinguishable... unchanged. It was as if she had never gone away from this life. She felt time swirl around her like an opening whirlpool. Sucking her down and holding her under. Her body was still, but everything around her was spiraling. She felt it come to a sudden halt, and it was as if she was back in that wear-house. God, the wear-house. That ill-fated place where her best friend took her last breath in her arms. Where that gun went off and she couldn't stop the bullet from crashing into her.
"Dr... Drea?" She uttered her name as if she was going insane. Summoning the silhouette of an image that she had only ever seen with her eyes closed. Like she was calling out to a figure in the depths of a dream.
She hadn’t had callings in years. No, they were long gone.
Was this one?
Or was she dreaming?
Suddenly blackness caved in on her, and a numbing sensation came over her. She felt something cold, hard, embrace her as her body gave way. The rest however, she had no recollection of.
Michaela woke up in her bed, panting hard. Faded memories danced across her mind.
"It was only a dream." She whispered softly, holding her palms to her forehead. She slowed her breathing, taking a large breath in and letting her body feel grounded in the bed underneath her. She felt reality again, and knew she was safe.
She reached her arm out, anticipating the feeling of her husband’s body next to her. Instead, the space was empty. She turned her face to the side, expecting to see Zeke's pillow, freshly indented and still smelling like him. But the pillow was stiff. He had clearly been up for hours. As she went to sit up and look for him however, she caught a sight her three week old daughter, Evangeline, wide awake on the side of the bed and kicking her legs. Zeke must've put her there so he could check on the other two she thought.
“Hi baby girl.” Mick whispered, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek.
She felt relief as she stared at her daughter, the fear from whatever she had woken up from beginning to fade. She knew she must’ve been dreaming.
She thought of Drea every day, and missed her more and more as the years passed. But she had never dreamt of her that vividly. It was as if she was standing right there in front of her. What a sick, cruel dream. She wondered what her subconscious was up to. Was it postpartum hormones making her more emotional and sentimental? She remembered that lingering feeling of reflection after she had the twins... but this wasn't it. What she felt now was unfamiliar... confusing. This time, she had no answer for what she was feeling, or why.
Suddenly she heard soft footsteps, her husbands she guessed. Seconds later he reached the door frame, his eyes widening at the sight of her. “Hey. You’re up.” He whispered, his voice full of concern. He practically jumped into her arms, grabbing her tight and not letting go.
Mick raised her brow as she pulled away, adjusting Evangeline in her arms. She didn't understand why he was so worried. “Yeah… how long was I out for?” Zeke sighed, taking a quick glance at their daughter and sitting by his wife's feet. “A couple of days. God, I was so scared.” He spoke, his lip beginning to quiver. "Saanvi said it must've been shock but-"
"-Whoa, whoa, whoa" She stopped him, not knowing what he was getting at. "Shock? Shock from what? I'm-i'm fine." Zeke let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. It was half out of relief and half out of hesitance for what he was about to ask. ‘What do you remember?” He asked, his voice soft.
Mick leaned over to her side, laying their daughter down on her back. In seconds she had fallen back to sleep, and was lying peacefully beside her. “I remember Zoe answering the door and…"
Then it hit her.
That dream... or hallucination? It must've caused her to black out.
She sighed softly, careful not to wake the baby. "You’re gonna think I’m crazy.”
Zeke titled his head, squinting his eyes at his wife. They had been together for close to a decade, he'd like to think he'd seen all of her crazy by now. “After everything we’ve been through Michaela Beth? Try me.”
Mick cracked a smile, a soft laugh escaping as she tried to formulate her words. “I saw Drea.”
Zeke took her hands in his own, squeezing them tightly. His face was sympathetic, his eyes welling as he stared at her. She hadn't seen him look like this in a long time... it worried her. “You’re not crazy.”
Mick felt the room begin to spin around her. What did he mean by that? She wondered. It was impossible... right? “Zeke, you can't be saying...”
He sighed, trying to calm her down. “She came to the door two nights ago.' Pausing, he tried to stop a smile from forming on his mouth. He was so happy Drea was alive, and he knew eventually Mick would be too. And at this point he had two days to process what was happening. Though still in shock, the dust had settled for him. His wife however, was nowhere near settled. That's why he treaded lightly as the next sentence came out of his mouth. "She’s back Mick.”
Michaela shook her head in disbelief, swinging her legs over to the edge of the bed. She released her hands from Zeke’s grip and put them on her head. “No. No.” She argued. “I… I watched her die. WE watched her die.” She felt her breath shake at the end of her sentence and her voice begin to break. “And you’re telling me she’s…. alive?”
Zeke shook his head. “I don’t know how. But yes. Mick… she’s alive.”
‘What does….” She began, trying to search for the right words. ‘What does this mean?”
“I don’t know. We can have Saanvi test her-”
“Do you-" She paused, furrowing her brow and closing her eyes tightly. She opened them after a moment, locking eyes with her husband once more. "Do you think… she’s one of us?”
“One of the returned?” He asked, sensing the desperation in his wife's voice. Mick nodded, searching for assurance in Zeke's face.
“I think so.”