Текст книги "The Fallen Star"

Автор книги: Jessica Sorensen

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

There wasn’t.

“Yeah, a place to hide.” He let go of my hand and grabbed hold of the handle on a nearby shoji door.

I hadn’t realized how bad my palms were sweating. I wiped them on the front of my skirt as Alex jerked the door open. Behind it was a man lying on a bed. His eyes were shut, and a woman wearing an old fashion corset dress was kneeling over him. Her blond hair curled down her back and tracing her neck was a tattoo, which I now knew was the mark of immortality.

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Noticing us, the woman rose up and bared her fangs.

A vampire.My mouth dropped open.

“Holy—”

Alex slammed the door shut.

I stared at him with wide eyes. “Wh-what the heck was that?”

Alex brushed me off, already rushing to the next shoji door.

I dared a glance back down the hall, wondering if I’d find a Death Walker charging at us. Surprisingly, I found it empty. But that brought no comfort to me. In fact, it made me worry more. At least if I’d been able to see it than I’d know where it was.

Alex slid open another door, and thankfully, no one was inside. He pushed me through the doorway and slammed the door shut behind us. The room was dark, only a trickle of light seeped through the screen of the door.

“Now what?” I breathed.

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I heard a soft clickas he locked the door.

“I need to find a place to hide you.”

“Hide me. What are you going to do?” He felt his way around in the dark, moving across what I could make out as a bed, a dresser, and then came to a stop at what looked like a room divider.

“Over here,” he whispered. “Get behind the screen.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to kill the Death Walker,” he hissed. “Now get over here.”

“Kill the Death Walker.” I inched my way toward him. “But you said they couldn’t be killed. Not without the sword, which you don’t have.”

He took me by the arm and gently shoved me behind the divider. I couldn’t see his face, but I sensed he was afraid. “I know that,” he said softly.

I pressed my quivering lips together, feeling like I might cry.

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“Look.” His voice was gentler than I’d ever heard it be. “I promise everything will be okay, just as long as you stay behind here.” Then he did the strangest thing ever.

He brushed his finger across my cheek. The touch was as light as a feather, but the electricity still tickle down my cheek. “Promise me you won’t come out until you know everything is okay.”

My thoughts were fluttering all over the place, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. “Okay.” And then he was gone. Just like that.

And I was alone. That’s when I realized what I’d done.

Chapter 19

I stayed behind the divider for what felt like an eternity. I swear the world could have been ending and I would have been completely unaware, the room was too dark and quiet—I swear the walls had to be sound proof or something, with how quiet it was—to get any kind of sense of what was going on.

All I had were my thoughts to pass the time. They brought me no sense of comfort whatsoever. All I kept thinking about was how Alex had said to wait here until I knew it was safe, but he’d never mentioned anything about him coming back. So what did that mean…that he wasn’t coming back?

I was so going to throw up.

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Plus, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was supposed to know when it was safe enough for me to come out. So I did the only thing I could think of. I waited until I felt like I was going to burst—until I couldn’t take it any longer—and then I made up my mind that it was time to step out from behind that divider.

I crept to the edge of it, my adrenaline hounding at such a rate that it just about knocked me to the ground. I paused, taking a deep breath, and …1…2…Bam!The lights flipped on. And before I even had time to react, fog was swirling all around me. I panicked. What was I supposed to do?

Holding my breath, I backed away from the edge of the divider. Logically, the best thing to do would be to stay calm, analyze the situation, and make a plan. But how the heck was I supposed to stay calm when there was fog everywhere, clouding everything, including the rational part of my brain. So 390/695

instead, I freaked and jumped out from behind the divider, preparing to run. I quickly realized, though, just how big of a mistake I’d made. I couldn’t see anything but fog. It was like being in a haunted house on Hal-loween. The only thing missing was the strobe lights.

Okay, okay, think.I searched the room for any sign of yellow eyes. In my nightmares and on the bus, even through the fog, I’d been able to see the piercing glow of the Death Walkers’ eyes. When I didn’t see any sign of them, it opened up a tiny glimpse of hope, and I bolted in the direction of what I prayed was the door. Bumping my knee on the dresser and catching the tip of my shoe on the leg of the bed, I at last touched the wall with the palm of hand. I felt around for the door, the chill of the fog seeping into my bones.

I found the bulge of the board trimming the doorway, and a rush of excitement 391/695

charged through me. I reached for where I thought the doorknob should be, but instead of touching metal, my fingers touched fabric.

Ice-cold fabric. I looked up and found a pair of glowing, soulless eyes staring down at me.

I was so dead.

I gaped at the murderously hungry monster, frozen with terror, unable to move. Its eyes burned into me like they were trying to burn into my soul. I needed to go. I needed to move away from it. I willed my legs to move and staggered backward until the backs of my legs pressed into the side of the bed. I skittered around it and inched back in-to farthest corner, putting as much distance as I could between me and the Death Walker.

The fog opened up, creating a hollow tunnel between the Death Walker and me. I waited for it to charge, but it didn’t move, instead towering in the doorway, its eyes blazing yellow from beneath its black hooded, ankle-length cloak. It was the first time I’d 392/695

ever seen one up close, and I instantly wished I could erase the sight from my mind.

It’s long, bony fingers stuck out from the sleeves of its cloak. The corpse-like skin that covered its hands almost made me gag. Its face looked like it was rotting; the flesh peel-ing away, revealing bits of raw muscles and jagged bones.

I pressed my back against the wall, wanting to get as far away as I could from the hideous thing. I let out a shiver, longing to disappear, wishing to be anywhere else but here.

The Death Walker’s eyes fired up to a bright gold, and it opened its mouth and let out a screech that sounded like a dying animal.

Then it charged.

I screamed as I realized I should’ve never trapped myself in a corner. What had I been thinking? There was no place for me to 393/695

run. I was such a goner. There was nothing I could do but wait for it to kill me.

Trembling with fear, I sank to the floor, catching one last glimpse of those haunting yellow eyes before I closed my own. I hugged my knees to my chest and waited for the cold to suck the life out of me. This was it. This was the end of me.

I wished I’d been able to live a less lonely life.

A loud bang, followed by a shriek, and then something fell, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

Buzzing filled my head as I cracked open my eyelids. I let out a gasp. Sprawled out on the floor, just in front of my feet, was the Death Walker, either unconscious or dead. I couldn’t tell for sure since it looked dead even when it was alive.

“Gemma, are you okay?”

I raised my chin up and met Alex’s bright green eyes. I nodded. My throat felt as dry as 394/695

the desert air, and I swallowed hard, trying to hydrate it enough so I could form some sort of words. “Yeah.”

Alex hopped over the body of the Death Walker and extended his hand out to me. I took it, catching my breath at the sight of the bluish-purple shade my skin had taken on.

“Don’t panic.” Alex wrapped his hand around mine and pulled me to my feet. His skin was so warm it practically burned against my overly chilled skin. He kept a hold of my hand and began rubbing it in attempt to create friction and bring warmth.

Then he took my other hand, pressed my palms together, and cupped his hands around mine.

“It’ll be okay,” he said and breathed on my hands, deluging my skin with warmth.

“Why does it always happen to my hands?” I asked, my body shaking from the cold that still lingered in the air. Or maybe it was from my nerves.

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“It’s where you lose your circulation first,” Alex explained with another breath.

“The Death Walkers cold works the same way as the normal cold air does. It starts at your fingers and toes, and works its way up.

The only difference is theirs works much quicker.”

“Toes?” I flitted a glance down at my DC’s, frightened at the idea of what was in them. Purple and blue toes? Toes that would need to be amputated? I’d heard about people losing their toes from the cold back in Afton, after they’d gotten lost somewhere while snowmobiling or snowboarding.

I really wanted to keep my toes.

“You’ll be fine,” Alex assured me. “Let’s just get you to the car.” He breathed one last breath on my hands, and then let them go.

Then he yanked out something that was stuck in the Death Walkers back. It was the Sword of Immortality. The jagged blade was 396/695

covered in sticky black goo—the Death Walkers blood, I assumed.

“Where did you get that?” I asked.

“Laylen and Aislin. Their pulling the car around right now so we can get out of here.” He wiped the blade on the cloak of the Death Walker, cleaning off the goo. Then he held out his hand to me. “Come on.” I took his hand, trying to ignore the flutter his touch caused my heart to do. “What about the other Death Walkers?”

“They’re dead.”

I tried my best not to look at the foul creature as I stepped over its body, but I still caught a hint of its rotting face and felt my stomach churn. “You killed all of them?”

“There were only two.” He pulled me toward the door. “And this,” he lifted the sword into the air, “makes killing them easy.” I followed Alex down the hall, my legs shaking the whole time. I think I’d enter some kind of state of shock or something.

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My body felt numb and strange, and the way the world swayed in beautiful bright colors and shapes couldn’t have been normal. To be honest, I barely remember making it to the car. But somehow, a little while later, I was sitting in the back seat of Laylen’s GTO with the warmth of the heater blasting across my skin, and the sound of tires screeching as we peeled away from the Black Dungeon.

Chapter 20

There was something wrong with my head. It wasn’t like anything had physically broken, more like I’d mentally cracked.

Whether it was from the shock of barely escaping my death, or the last few hours finally catching up with me, I didn’t know. But for whatever reason, I couldn’t seem to focus.

Everything kept spinning and spinning, like I was trapped on an out-of-control merry-go-round. I was starting to get nauseous when Alex had me lie down and elevate my legs, mumbling something about how it would keep me from going into shock.

So there I was, lying down in the back seat of the GTO, with my legs resting on Alex’s lap. It didn’t occur to me until later that lying down in a skirt and putting my feet 399/695

on a guys lap may not have been the greatest of ideas. When I started to grasp a hold of reality again, I realized that, if he really wanted to, Alex could see straight up my skirt. Luckily, he seemed fixated on staring out the window. And really, who was I kidding? There was no way Alex wanted to look up my skirt.

I sighed, tugging down the hem of it.

Alex turned his head and looked down at me. “Oh good, you’re awake.”

“Was I asleep?” I asked. I couldn’t remember drifting off.

His eyes skimmed over my face like he was checking for visible signs of my head being broken. “Are you sure you didn’t bump your head?”

I thought back to when I’d just about been killed. “No…I’m pretty sure there was no head bumping.”

He glanced at Aislin. They both exchanged a look I couldn’t interpret.

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“What?” I asked, starting to sit up.

Whoa. Can you say head rush? I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. “Ouch.”

“Gemma, you need to lie back down,” Alex insisted.

I slid my legs off his lap and sat up straight. “What’s going on?” They exchanged another look, and this time I thought I saw a hint of disappointment in Alex’s expression.

“Why do you two keep giving each other weird looks?” My head had stopped spinning now, and I realized not only had the car stopped, but Laylen wasn’t in it. “And where’s Laylen?”

“He’s inside.” Aislin pointed out the window at a redbrick building with the words Adessa’s Herbs and Spices printed across the door. “He went in to check things out and make sure everything was okay before we all went inside.”

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“Oh…well, why do you guys keep looking at each other like that?” I asked.

“Like what?” Alex asked so casually I knew he was playing dumb.

I looked back and forth between the two of them. Neither of their expressions gave anything away. But still, I could sense something was up.

“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?” Alex wondered. “You’re acting kind of funny.

Are you feeling okay?”

Hmm…Am I feeling okay? Suddenly, I had an epiphany. “Wait just a second,” I held my hands up in front of me exasperatedly.

“Did you guys think I’d gone back to not being able to feel again or something?” Aislin shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and I could tell I’d guessed what they were thinking. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you were acting weird,” Alex replied in a laidback tone that would have made you think we’d been discussing the 402/695

weather, not my emotions disappearing again.

“You were so mellow,” Aislin added in an unsteady voice.

“Oh.” I raised my eyebrows. “So you guys thought that I’d bumped my head or something and knocked the old Gemma back in.”

Neither of them said anything. Aislin fiddled with the visor above her head, and Alex stared out the window. I knew he was only trying to avoid making eye contact with me, seeing is how we were in a dark, desol-ated area, and there was nothing particularly fascinating to look at outside.

“Well, that’s nice,” I muttered, slumping back in my seat.

Aislin slowly turned around in her seat and looked at me with sad eyes. “Gemma, we didn’t mean it like that. We just thought…”

“That I’d stopped feeling,” I finished for her grudgingly. “Well sorry to break it to you, 403/695

but I don’t think a bump on the head is going to knock me back into to that.” Then I crossed my arms and pretended like I was harboring this huge secret about what had caused the sudden onset of my emotions.

Really, I had no freaking clue what had caused my emotions to suddenly be released.

But they didn’t need to know that. Letting them think I knew more than what I was telling them, strangely enough, felt very gratifying.

“Gemma, if you know something,” Alex began, but I turned my back to him and stared out the window, tracing the lines of the surrounding buildings with my eyes.

I tried to brush off the fact that Alex seemed disappointed that I’d showed emotion. Who cared what he thought. Not me. I could feel and that was all that matter. Okay, well, that was a lie. But whatever. I was going to try my best not to focus on how Alex felt 404/695

about me because, if I did, it would probably eat away at my insides.

As I stared at Adessa’s Herb’s and Spice’s, I noticed a crescent moon outlined by a black star sketching the window of the door. I glanced at the tattoo on Aislin’s shoulder. It was exactly the same as what was on the window.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing at her shoulder.

She traced the lines of the tattoo with her finger. “It’s the witches mark. After I became a witch, it appeared on my skin.”

“Like the mark of immortality?” I inquired.

Her eyebrows dipped down in perplex-ity. “How do you know about that?”

“Laylen told me while we were at the Black Dungeon,” I explained.

“Oh great,” Alex scoffed. “What else did he tell you?”

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“Nothing,” I said, which was a lie since I now knew what a Black Angel was. “So does everyone have a mark?”

Aislin nodded. “I actually have two. One because I’m a witch.” She lifted her foot onto the center console and flipped the ceiling light on. A black circle trimmed by fiery gold flames tattooed the side of her ankle. “And one because I’m a Keeper.”

“And what? They just all of a sudden showed up?”

“Yeah, my Keeper’s mark appeared when I was about twelve. It was also about the same time I really started learning about what it is to be a Keeper. And my witches mark showed up when I was about fifteen, which is when I first found out I possessed Wicca magic.”

I wondered how many marks Alex had.

Was he more than just a Keeper?

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“If you’re wondering if I have one, the answer is yes,” he said, like he’d read my mind or something.

Hold on. What if he could read minds? I mean, with everything else I’d learned over the last twenty-four hours, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if there was such a thing as mind-reading abilities. If Alex could read minds then that would totally suck, considering how my thoughts tended to center around him and his beautifulness.

“I only have one mark, though,” he said, meeting my eyes “The Keepers mark.” Phew. What a relief. “Does it look the same as Aislin’s?”

He nodded. “Same mark, just in a different spot.”

Why, for the life of me, did his remark fire up the electricity was beyond me. I chewed on my bottom lip, severely distracted by my thoughts of where his mark could be.

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A sly grin spread across his face. “If you want, I can show you where it is.”

“Alex,” Aislin hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Relax,” Alex said. “There’s no need to get all wound up. I was just teasing her.” I came to the conclusion right then and there that maybe Alex had some kind of a bi-polar disorder or something. First he hated me. Then he’d kissed me. Sometimes I irritated him. And sometimes he was teasing me.

For someone who didn’t want me to feel, he was sure sending my emotions all over the place.

Looking out the window, Aislin heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Oh good, we can go in.” I followed her gaze and saw Laylen, standing in front of Adessa’s, waving us in.

Inside of Adessa’s Herb’s and Spice’s, the air smelled of sage and a few other spices that I couldn’t quite identify. Black and 408/695

white tile checkerboarded the floor, the witches mark painted largely in the center.

Glass countertops, displaying simple things like jewelry, candles, and incense, outlined the room. There were, however, some things inside the display cases that looked rather questionable. A black pot with a creepy looking eye painted on it (I swear the thing was watching me), a miniature figurine of an Egyptian pyramid, and a statue of a cat with two heads. I couldn’t help but wonder what these strange looking objects did. Were they merely for display? Or did they hold some kind of magical power to them?

“So…” Aislin skimmed about the room with a puzzled expression. “Where’s this Adessa?”

“She’ll be down in just a minute.” Laylen leaned back against a display case and rested his elbows on top of it. “She had to run upstairs to get something.” 409/695

I walked around the room, trailing my finger aimlessly along the glass countertop as I gazed down at all the peculiar looking objects. On one of the counters, I spotted a crystal ball that looked like what Fortune Tellers use to see into the future. I peered inside it, curious if I’d be able to see what my future held. Violet ribbons floated gracefully in a sea of shimmering water. Through it, my reflection stared back at me. Apparently, I possessed no psychic abilities. Either that or this particular ball was a dud.

“If you’re not careful, you might get stuck inside it,” Alex said, practically appearing out of thin air and scaring the crap out of me.

I threw my hand over my accelerating heart. “Jesus. You scared the heck out of me.” I paused, catching me breath. “So what were you saying about me getting stuck inside something?”

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He tapped his fingers on the crystal ball.

“Stuck inside here. It’s a Foreseer’s crystal ball. The kind they use to see visions. But to see the future, they actually have to go into the future.” He flicked the ball with his finger. “By going inside this.”

“But why would Iget stuck inside it? I’m not a Foreseer.”

“Yeah, but you’re…different. I don’t think you touching it would be such a good idea.”

“But you keep touching it,” I pointed out.

“But I don’t have the power of a star flowing around inside me, do I.” He rapped his fingers on the crystal ball again, I guess trying to prove his point. “Who knows what might happen if you touch it? You might set off its power or something and get sucked in-to a vision. In fact, you probably shouldn’t touch anything at all.”

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“Including the floor,” I said with bitter sarcasm. “Because that seems like it would be very tricky.”

Most people would have gotten aggravated by my smart mouthed comment. Not Alex, though. Nope. It was like a game to him.

“That does sound pretty tricky.” He leaned in toward me and lowered his voice.

“I think you know that’s not what I meant.” I took a few slow, deep breaths because I had to. With how close he was, the electricity had ignited and forced me into a tug-o-war with my emotions. Part of me wanted to slap him, while the other part of me wanted to press my lips against his.

I tore my eyes away from him and looked over at Laylen and Aislin to distract myself from my insane feelings. They seemed to be engulfed in a very serious conversation.

Laylen had his eyes fixed on Aislin, who kept 412/695

waving her hands around in a heated kind of gesture.

“Well, if it’s that big of a deal if I touch something,” I mumbled, “then maybe I should go wait in the car.”

“You can’t go back to the car,” Alex said sternly. “Not by yourself.” We both stood there, staring at each other, as this giant bubble of electricity built around us.

Finally, Alex broke his gaze away. He kicked the tile with the tip of his shoe. “So yeah, just make sure you don’t touch anything, except for the floor.” A few moments later, a woman around thirty years old or so waltzed into the room.

She had golden cat-shaped eyes and wavy black hair that flowed all the way down to her waist. She wore a navy blue velvet dress, large gold-hooped earrings, and her skin was the color of honey.

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“I’m Adessa,” she said in a voice as smooth as silk. “Now, Laylen told me that one of you is a witch and is looking for a Vectum Crystal.” Her cat eyes landed on me.

“And let me guess, it’s you.” I glanced around nervously and then shook my head, lost as to why she’d think that. I pointed a finger over in Aislin’s direction. “No, not me—her.”

“Hmm…that’s interesting.” She focused her attention on Aislin. “So what particular one are you looking for, dear?”

“Well, I’ve been using the purple amethyst.” Aislin paused. “But since we have to travel a long distance, I think maybe the gold one would work better.” Adessa twisted a red diamond pendant necklace that hung around her neck. “How long of a distance is it, dear?”

“Oh…I think about 500 miles,” Ailsin said. “Give or take a few.” 414/695

Adessa wandered behind the counter and waved at Aislin to follow her. “I think I have something that would work even better than a gold one.” She raised her hand and drew an invisible rectangle in the air. One of the shelves, lining the purple walls, shifted backwards, sinking into the wall like it had been drawn back by an invisible force. Or a magical force. My mouth dropped agape as the shelf disappeared altogether and revealed a solid black door hidden behind it.

Adessa flicked her hand like she was shooing a fly away, and the door swung open.

From where I stood, I

couldn’t see what was inside. I tried to casually lean to my left to get a better look but no such luck—Adessa and Aislin were blocking my view.

Adessa motioned at the doorway. “After you, my dear.”

Aislin bit down on her lip and tentatively stepped inside. Adessa followed behind her.

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A bright red flash sparkled throughout the room, and the door slammed shut.

Then they were gone.

“What the heck.” I was resting somewhere between being completely fascinated and absolutely terrified. “Where did they go?”

“To a secret place where Adessa keeps certain things hidden,” Laylen answered.

“What kind of things?” I asked, intrigued.

Laylen came over beside me, his hands tucked in his pockets. “The dangerous kind.”

“Laylen,” Alex warned.

“What?” Laylen gave him an I’m-so-innocent look. “She asked a question, and I answered. What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything’s wrong with it,” Alex said forthrightly.

I sighed. Would the secretiveness ever end? I could cross my fingers and hope so, 416/695

but I wasn’t holding my breath—I’d probably die from lack of oxygen if I did.

I traced my finger along a crack in the display case. “So why did Adessa think I was the witch?”

Laylen cocked his head to the side, his forehead scrunched over. “I’m not really sure.”

Alex spun the Foreseers crystal ball in its stand—the one I wasn’t supposed to touch, but apparently he could. “Probably because of your eyes.”

I absentmindedly touched the corner of my eye. “Why would my eyes make her think that?”

“You’ve seen them, right?” he said derisively. “The color’s anything but normal—a dead giveaway that there’s something differentabout you.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen them.” I snapped.

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“I’m not trying to be mean.” He sounded like he meant it, but who could tell for sure.

“I actually like the color. It’s a nice different.” Confused if he was teasing me or not, I opted to keep my mouth shut. That way, nothing stupid would escape it.

Laylen wandered away from us and started fiddling around with a set of black and blue ceramic boxes on a nearby shelf. Electric sparks started kissing at my body, moving from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. It wasn’t too hot or too strong, and I had to admit, I liked the way it made me feel, even though I knew I shouldn’t. There were small, fleeting moments like this where I could relax and soak up the tingling sensation on my skin. But I wondered if there would ever be a time where I could just freely enjoy it. Or freely enjoy my life? Would I ever just be normal? Maybe after I stopped this apocalyptic-end-of-the-world thing from happening, I just might be able to.

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Maybe.

But what was even going to happen to me after I stopped the end of the world from happening? It had never been made clear to me. Nothing had been made clear to me, not really.

“Can I ask you something?” I asked Alex.

He fixed his gaze on a tiny black stone inside the counter. “Depends on what it is, I guess.”

I shook my head. I highly doubted he was going to give me a straight answer—or an answer at all—but I had to at least try, right? I took a deep breath and quickly threw my question out there. “What happens to me after the portal closes?” Okay, so I’d learned from past experiences with Alex that he was a good actor. He could lie like a real pro. Pretend to be something

he

wasn’t.

Manipulate

my

thoughts. So when his face drained of all its 419/695

color, my heart virtually stopped. Whatever the answer was, it had to be horrible.

“What is it?” My words rushed out of me in a panic.

He shook his head, his skin still very pale. “Gemma, I’m not sure we should be talking about this right now.”

“What do you mean you don’t think we should talk about this right now?” I stomped my foot on the floor—yes, like a two year-old, but considering the circumstances, I think it was totally called for. “Just tell me.”

“I’d rather not,” he said flatly.

“Well, I’d rather you did,” I retorted.

“No, this isn’t something we should be discussing right now.”

And that’s when I knew it. I was never going to be normal. I was never going to be able to enjoy things, be happy, and do whatever I wanted with my life. Why? Because I was never going to have a life. The 420/695

portal was going to kill me. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“I don’t know.” He hesitated. “No one knows really. You could just go back to normal or….” He drifted off.

“Or I could die,” I finished for him.

He didn’t answer, but he was looking everywhere else except at me.

Freaking out, I whirled around on my heels, preparing to make a mad dash for the door, but my elbow bumped into something cold and hard. The Foreseers crystal ball. It bounced off the stand, rolled off the counter, and hit the floor with a loud clank.

“Crap,” I said. Without even thinking, I bent down to swipe it up.

Alex and Laylen yelled, “No!” As my fingers grazed the glass, I felt my body being pulled. And then I was spiraling down a dark tunnel.

Chapter 21

The fall seemed endless, like I’d been sucked into a bottomless abyss. Fear set in as I realized that a bottomless abyss might be exactly what this was—a giant hole with no ending. Of course, if there was a bottom, and I hit it at the speed I was falling at then…Well, I didn’t want to think about it right now.

Below my feet, I saw a white light twinkling through the blackness. As I plunged closer to it, it began to shimmer brighter and brighter, eventually becoming so bright I had to shut my eyes or else I might go blind.

Warmth blanketed around me, and I sucked in a breath as my feet hit the ground hard.

I toppled forward, landing face first onto a surface that felt scratchy and dry like grass.

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I quickly leapt to my feet. Yep, sure enough, the scratchy, dry surface was grass, and I had a mouth full of it.

I spat a few times, clearing out my mouth. My head was throbbing and where my stitches were ached. Worried I’d torn them open, I lifted up the bottom of my shirt and carefully peeled back the bandage. My skin looked red and swollen, but there was no blood and the stitches still seemed to be holding my skin together.

I pressed the bandaged back down and glanced around, seeing if I could recognize my surroundings. Bright orange and pink leaves danced through air, and the wind whispered against my hair. Tall trees trimmed a translucent lake. The place felt strangely familiar, like I’d been here before but couldn’t quite remember when. It was the same feeling I’d experience when I’d been sucked away back at the field trip.