Lucy pulls Luke's hand into her own. "We can't do this to ourselves. We did the best we could with what we knew at the time. The past is over—we can't change it. We have to look forward."
He pulls his hand away. "That's a cop-out. With that attitude, no one ever takes responsibility for their own actions. What if we didn't do our best? Or what if we did and it just wasn't good enough? We weren't ready. They should've sent someone else."
"That wasn't our call to make."
"I know, but we still chose to go. We could have said no. Maybe by being there, we made things worse."
Lucy throws a rock into the water and it skips twice before sinking. That feels familiar, but she isn't sure why. "And maybe things would have gone worse without us. Have you thought of that? Maybe more people would be dead if we hadn't been there."
Luke shrugs and chases her rock with his own. "I just hope we're making the right choices, because sometimes it doesn't feel like it."
The water fills with flowers and Lucy dips her hand in to play with a rainbow flower. This valley is so peaceful, so perfect. She lifts the flower from the water and admires the many colored petals all working together to create the rainbow effect. The simplicity and beauty impresses her.
She looks up to show Luke the flower and sees something in the water coming near him. A pair of eyes peeks out, cutting a path through the flower-strewn lake. Again, a sense of deja vu clutches at her, filling her with dread. Is it an alligator in the water?
Her heart races in panic, though she's not sure why. "Luke, there's something behind you. Run!"
Luke smirks at her but doesn't move. "Why?"
This is too familiar, but she doesn't understand. She moves toward her brother and is about to tackle him, to push him away, but eyes rise from the water and she sees it's not an alligator. It's a giant lizard. She's seen it before, but where?
Green scales glisten in the sun, and its heart pulses under its skin like a living ruby. With unparalleled speed, the lizard dives forward and snatches Luke with its claws, pulling him back into the water.
"No! Leave him alone!" Lucy's screams fall flat. She dodges the tail as it swings around to smack her.
She draws her gun and fires, over and over again. Pow-Pow-Pow.
Bullets imbed themselves in the flesh of the lizard, and it roars and groans, spinning viciously, looking for something to attack.
Lucy doesn't stop firing. She empties her clip into the beast.
The lizard roars again and flings Luke at her. His body soars through the air and hits a tree, falling limp onto the ground.
"Luke. Luke!" Lucy rushes to him, eyes locked on her twin, his pale face now coated in blood, a small hole—a bullet hole—carved into his temple.
"Oh, my God, what have I done? What have I done?" She can't take her eyes off her dead brother, though she can hear the lizard approaching her from behind.
Her body refuses to move, refuses to pull away from Luke. Even when she feels the beast take up the space behind her. Even when she feels its hot breath on her neck. Still, she cannot move.
Cannot turn, or fight, or flee.
Goosebumps run down her arm and a cold sweat covers her skin.
Sharp teeth impale themselves in her neck and shoulder. Pain. So much pain.
Then nothing.
***
Not nothing. More pain. Why did everything hurt so much? Lucy pushed herself up from her stomach and collapsed back to the ground, too weak to move and in too much agony to try again. A breeze stung her raw and exposed back and she yelped in shock.
With her cheek pressed against leaves, she saw Luke's feet approach her. The gut-wrenching fear from her dream drained out of her when she realized he was still alive—that it hadn't been real.
He crouched down so she could see him better. The dark circles under his eyes hadn't been there before, and worry lines marred his complexion. "You're awake. I'm so glad. I thought... well, never mind. I'm just so glad you're okay. If anything had happened to you, I'd...."
Tears stung her cheek at the sight of her brother so upset. Had she really been that injured? Images of the lizard flashed in her mind—the pain as it tore through her back, Hunter slaying it and carrying her back to camp, the pulsing of the sphere and the warmth.
"Where's my pack? I need it."
"Hey, Luce, this is no time to go marching into the jungle again. You can barely move. You have to heal."
"I know. I'm not going anywhere. I just need it, okay? Can you get it?"
"Sure, if it'll make you feel better." He stood and walked a few feet, then came back and placed the pack by Lucy's hands.