'What is it, Son? What's happened?'
'I killed a man today. He was a bad man who would have killed Sam and our child, but still... I beat him until he couldn't even be recognized as human. Am I going to hell?'
'You don't believe in hell.'
'But you do. Father, I'm losing Sam. I can see it in her eyes. That's the worst kind of hell there is for me. What do I do?'
'You keep loving and keep fighting for what's right. You give her the honesty and intimacy that has always been denied to you—and you let her make her own choices.'
Silence stretched on and I had to fight my own emotions so they wouldn't bleed into Drake's awareness. He hurt so much. I wanted to reach out to him and comfort him, but I didn't know how.
'Unless I can talk Sam out of it, we will be attacking tomorrow. We need your help.'
My concentration faded. I couldn't hold onto the conversation. Exhaustion claimed my body and blissful nothingness claimed my mind.
***
I float outside myself, through the door and into the world beyond. Darkness claims me like a lover, each star a song for my soul.
A girl meets me under the light of the moon. She too hovers in between realities. Her long brown hair flows around her as if she were a mermaid swimming in the sea.
Her kind, brown eyes spark recognition. "I know you, don't I? From somewhere? Another life, perhaps?"
She smiles with heart-shaped lips and takes my phantom hand. I'm surprised that I can feel her skin, her touch, as if she were real. As if any of us were real.
"Yes. I am Desirai. We went to school together, before you left. I'm a Dream Walker. Lucy has been captured and I need to tell you what's happening at the school."
Lucy. My best friend in the whole world. How I've missed her. How I've longed for her presence through all this insanity.
"Is she hurt? Is Luke?" I am surprised by these feelings of panic in my ether body.
"They're fine, but not for long. Come, I must show you."
I let her lead me to the Rent-A-Kid center. What had once been home now looks like a prison. I'm saddened by the armed guards and reinforced fences, by the beauty they have destroyed. "What's happened here? This is worse than I thought."
"That's not all." She takes me to the center, and bodies appear. Kids I had gone to school with. I realize we are not in present time, whatever that might mean. We are in no time. She is showing me the past.
A new man, scary and big, with a gun at his side, takes a whip and.... How can this be? He tears the skin off the back of a young boy. "No!" I scream, but no one turns to look at me. He doesn't stop.
"They can't hear you. It's a memory, nothing more. Come."
We leave that horrible scene. The boy's tortured face will forever haunt me, I know.
We come to another place on campus, outside the Headmaster's office. Two boys prepare to duel. I smile. Duels had always been fun, though sometimes a little dangerous. What mischief are they causing now?
Fire and Ice. Robert Frost is recited. As is the tradition in our duels, there must be a recitation of poetry or literature to thematically inspire the duels. It's my favorite part. And this is one of my favorite poems.
But something goes wrong. They are interrupted by the tall, mean man. The gun is in his hand.
And....
No. Oh my God, no. The boy. The fire boy. He's dead. No! I knew him. I had class with him, and now his brains are splattered all over the sidewalk.
"Is this real? This can't be real."
"I'm sorry, but it is. We need your help. Can you come? The Seeker, he's killing us. He controls us and takes away our powers. We've already failed once at escape. We need you and Drake."
"We're coming. Hang on to hope. We'll be there."
***
Dawn lifted the veils of night from the sky and awakened me before the alarm. I shook Drake awake. "We have to go. No time to wait. Kids are dying."
I just hoped we wouldn't be next.
Chapter 48 – Lucy
The Seeker's voice drifted into Lucy's dreams. Why was she dreaming of the Seeker?
Consciousness played hide 'n seek with her mind until a dull, throbbing pain in her shoulder brought her back to reality.
"I trust you are comfortable enough? I knew you would want your wits about you, so I had the doctor give you a smaller dose of pain medication than normal. Please, let me know if it is not enough, and I shall have more brought to you. I apologize for the trigger-happy fools who shot you. They have been dealt with."
Lucy pulled herself into a sitting position on the bed. The Seeker sat in a chair next to her. "Where am I?"
"These are my personal chambers. I wanted to supervise your care personally."
A candle on the side table lit the room with a soft glow, but cast the Seeker in shadows. "Why's it so dark in here?"
"I exist in the shadows of the world." He offered just the hint of a grin. "I am delighted you have woken. Can I get you anything before we talk?"
Lucy swallowed and ran her tongue over her fuzzy teeth. "Water, please."