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A familiar fire burns up my spine. It was there when I killed Scotty and when I jumped in front of the bullet to save Luke. I dismissed it at first, but as it flares to life, I recognize it as the pool of glowing light Charlie showed me when we were meditating. That fire is me, and I’m ending this nightmare now.
There’s a commotion by the door and a blur of movement, but I don’t have time to react because John appears out of thin air, standing in front of me. His eyes are an opaque metallic gold, and his expression is stoic. My instinct tells me he’s not physically here. A shooting pain flitters through my body, then takes hold. John grimaces. His mouth doesn’t move, but he shouts my name, his yell thick with panic and despair. He needs my help.
Golden light pours from his eyes as he screams. Pain like I’ve never experienced grips me and I scream with him. My veins flay open, and I’m stabbed a million times with tiny needles. My muscles bend and twist and my bones feel like they shatter over and over. Our roars grow to a crescendo and light fills the room in a blinding explosion. A force like a tidal wave, but stronger, rips from me and expands, and I howl through the torment. John disappears and the light blinks out. I gasp for breath, my throat burning with each inhale.
The room is dark and eerily silent, the lights above us blown out. Moonlight glows through the broken windows and I stare at the surrounding horror. Dozens of men lay sprawled on the floor. Their eyes nothing more than burnt out holes. Their skin and clothes in tattered ruins. A lake of blood forms beneath them. The headless corpse of the man who was holding the gun to my head twitches on the floor.
I find Luke and my body sags in relief. He’s on his knees, his chest heaving as he stares at me with wide eyes. Mark and my dad wear matching expressions of shock from the chairs they’re still tied to. Charlie stands next to them, watching me with concern. A man I don’t recognize, but who seems familiar, kneels next to Luke, his expression unreadable. Blood splatters their clothes and arms. Luke sprints to me and frames my face. “Are you alright?”
I nod and we both watch as Charlie grabs my shackles and pulls them off the chair like they were nothing more than Velcro. He grabs the cuffs on my wrists in both hands and the metal bends and shatters.
“We have to get out of here. Now,” Charlie says.
Luke pulls me to my feet, and I slam into his chest. I sob as we hold each other tight, his firm hand cradling my head against his chest.
Mark seems wary of the stranger as he approaches with my dad. I step away from Luke, but he holds tight to my hand as I stare into the stranger’s piercing green eyes for a moment. He brushes his jet-black hair off his forehead. I don’t know how, but I know I can trust him.
He extends his hand to me. “This will suck, but it will pass. Just hold on, ok?” I place my palm in his, and the world blurs. One second, I’m in the warehouse, surrounded by dead men. The next I’m standing in the middle of a desert. My stomach reaches for my mouth, and I lean over and hurl everything I’ve eaten for the past month.
Charlie appears with Luke a second later and he drops and hurls into his own bush as the wind whips around us.
There’s another whooshing sound, and a comforting hand rubs my back and holds my hair behind my head. I straighten and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, sucking in a calming breath. Mark appears with Charlie, and he leans against a rock to empty his stomach. My dad doesn’t seem phased. I straighten and the stranger drops my hair, but keeps his hand on my back to steady me. “Who are you?”
“I’m called Specter.”
I frown at the odd name. My dad pushes him aside and yanks me into his chest. “I’m so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry,” he repeats as he holds my head to his chest, and I grip him back just as tight.
“Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?” Mark says after sucking in a deep breath and collapsing onto the rock.
“We’ll explain everything. But we can’t do it here. It’s not safe,” Specter says.
“You’re going to be ok,” Charlie says. I take a second to realize he didn’t move his mouth but spoke in my mind. He extends his palm. A purple succulent appears.
“What the fuck?” Mark says. Everyone stares at the plant as Charlie watches me.
Somehow, I know it’s always been real. Even my dreams of Luke. I palm my forehead and sink to my ass. I close my eyes and see all those dead men and my empty stomach roils. Luke kneels beside me, and I lean against his chest as he wraps me up.
I meet Specter’s gaze. “Why did you have to kill everyone?”
They all turn to me, their eyes pinched with concern. Specter steps forward and kneels in front of me. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I stare at him as a strange familiar sensation spreads through me.
“We didn’t, Liv. You did.”
