Lucy frowned. Right. Des is a dream-walker. She'd given Sam important information about Rent-A-Kid security once, before they took down the whole facility.
So, what part was real? Not Luke dying; that couldn't be. Looking back, none of the dreams seemed especially desirable. They were all nightmares, so where was her body?
The dream world Desirai created felt so warm and happy, Lucy didn't want to ever leave.
Des smiled. "I finally found you. How are you?"
What to say? "I'm good, I guess. We're on our mission to save the kids, right?"
Des nodded. "Yes."
"Okay then, I guess we're still working out the details on that." Why did it feel so hard to distinguish reality from dream? This inability to access her own life scared Lucy more than all of her scary dreams. Well, almost more.
But Lucy couldn't stay scared in Desirai's dream world; too much happiness and joy lived there.
Des reached for Lucy. "Come, I have something exciting to show you. You're going to love it."
Lucy couldn't imagine what it could be, but she allowed the girl to lead her through a door and into a brightly lit room full of life and golden light.
Several people stood around a bed. Is someone sick? No, that wouldn't be happy.
Desirai pulled her forward, and Lucy saw.
Sam lay in the bed holding a baby.
"Oh my God, Ana was born." Tears stung Lucy's eyes.
The baby gurgled and then opened her eyes and smiled. She had Sam's smile, and blue eyes that matched both of her parents'.
"Sam, your baby is so cute. She's beautiful." Lucy reached out to touch the baby's cheek, but her fingers slid right through. She pulled back, scared and sad.
"This is just a dream," Des said. "A memory, really. My memory. I'll show you what I can."
Disappointment surged through Lucy, but she felt grateful to have this, at least, since she couldn't be there for the birth.
"Sam did such a great job. And she felt your love and support the whole time."
Desirai showed her flashes of the birth. Lucy's heart skipped when Sam's vitals slipped, but she and the baby had both survived and were now doing well. That was all that mattered.
The baby gurgled again, and everyone in the room oohed and ahhed. Lucy spotted Des, the memory-Des, standing by the bed with Brad's arm around her.
"So you and Brad...?"
"Yeah, we're together. Totally unexpected but really incredible."
"I'm really happy for you." A twinge of jealousy aside, Lucy wanted Des to be happy. She'd just hoped... well... Brad was hot and nice and really talented. She'd been hoping to spend more time with him when she returned from this mission, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.
The baby cooed again, and Lucy looked back at her. So tiny and fragile. She and Luke had to complete their assignment and destroy Rent-A-Kid for good. They couldn't let anything happen to Baby Ana or any of the kids.
"Have you shown Luke yet? He needs to see this."
Luke needed to focus, and maybe this would help.
Des shook her head. "No, I'll connect with him next. I can only do one at a time."
Mary stood in the doorway, hidden partially by the frame. "How is Mary here? She's dead!"
"She survived. We just found out. I'm as surprised as you are."
Something shifted. The room faded and a man's voice, quiet, raspy and old, broke through. "Wake up, Lucy."
It sounded familiar. "Who is this?"
"Wake up," the voice repeated.
Lucy looked around but couldn't see anything. "Where are you?"
"Wake up, Lucy. Your brother needs you." The voice melted away, and Sam's room reappeared with all its colors and sounds.
Desirai reached out. "What happened? Are you okay?"
Lucy shook from fear. "No. Something's wrong. I need to wake up. How do I wake up?" Panic gripped her. Luke!
Des looked around in alarm. "I don't know. I mean... you can... I've heard that when you die, you wake up."
"I thought it was when you die in your dream, you die in real life?"
Des shook her head. "No. Not true."
Okay, I can do this. "You're sure."
Des looked scared, but nodded.
Lucy walked to the open window. They were on the third floor.
Des looked out. "That's not high enough to kill you."
"It is if I land on my head."
She jumped headfirst out the window.
***
She jolted awake. Again. Was this real or another dream? She didn't know anymore, but she had to find her brother.
She lay in their camp, where she'd fallen asleep the night before. The dark sky dumped buckets of rain on her. She should've slept under shelter like Luke, but it had been a perfect night, and she liked the warmth of the fire, which Mother Nature had now drowned.
Lucy grabbed her gun and ran toward Luke's shelter.
He lay still on his makeshift bed, asleep.
Something stood over him. A figure.
Lightning flashed, and her eyes focused.
Beleth reached for her brother, and Lucy aimed her gun.
Chapter 76 – Lucy
"Get away from my brother." Lucy's finger pressed against the trigger, ready to pull it if Beleth so much as twitched wrong.