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“See you tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
The sound of his steps retreating allowed me to breathe again, and I opened my eyes, once more willing my eyesight to return. This had to be my illness attacking my body, what else could it be? Still, it didn’t matter how desperately I wished it, I couldn’t see.
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed my left eye, and I gripped my knees from the agony. Dropping my head, I tried to withstand it, until a soft blue glow slowly pierced the darkness.
The Dragon ring was glowing.
Utter blackness extended around me, but I could see the golden band glowing through the fabric. Reaching for the chain that hung from my neck, I pulled it out of my shirt, and forced myself to take a settling breath, trying to focus on it as much as I could. My vision was returning, so maybe if I looked at it hard enough—the ground moved underneath me abruptly, and I noticed it didn’t seem like smooth white tile, but something resembling gravel.
When my head lifted, eyes roaming my surroundings, everything was still engulfed in shadows, but it no longer felt like I was in the small bathroom. My hands let go of the ring, grabbing the toilet beneath me to keep a grip on reality. Yet, my body felt like it was large enough to dwarf the entire building, and I could feel the earth tremble underneath me with each step.
I was moving?
I gripped the ceramic bowl even harder, desperately reminding myself that I was still here, in the Subway, yet what I saw was completely different. The smell of burnt earth and rock drifted into my nostrils, smoke swirled among the space and as my head lifted, I noticed what appeared like torches on the walls. There weren’t many, maybe two, three at most, but their measly light partially illuminated the cave.
A cave.
How the hell was I in a cave, when I clearly remembered stepping into the bathroom??
Panic returned, and with it, the dreaded realization that my mind might be seeking an escape from reality—like my mother’s had done. My blood froze until my entire body shivered.
No, that couldn’t be happening to me. Not now. Not ever.
The strange cavern quaked with the thunderous animal roar that erupted, causing a green flare to burst out of thin air. Its light increased as it flew towards me, swirling like fire and electricity at the same time. As it approached, everything in its path illuminated, showing rows and rows of iron chains bolted to the rocky walls, their looping lengths draped over the ground on their way to where I stood.
Another roar of pure wrath cracked the roof, causing rocks to plummet over everything just as the green flare hit my chest. Blinding pain hit me so harshly that it knocked the air out of me, and I fell on my knees on the tile floor.
“Are you done, Brax?” Peter called from outside while I shut my eyes tightly, frantically trying to breathe. “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s getting kind of crazy out here. We need you.”
Gasping for air, I snapped my eyes open, and witnessed the soft blue walls of the bathroom return to me. The metal door slowly became clear, and so did the white sink and red mirror that hung over it. Sweet oxygen finally made its way to my lungs when my full vision returned, and I pushed myself up on the toilet, flushing it yet again to keep appearances.
“I’ll be right there!”
“Okay.”
Hands trembling, I gripped the wall and stood, trying with everything inside me to get my shit together so I could go back to work. Unsteady legs took me to the sink, still feeling the pain in my chest from the imaginary attack I had suffered. Splashing cold water on my face, I blinked several times, clinging to reality as much as humanly possible.
That was, until my wobbly fingers lifted my shirt. Fuck. A large, purple bruise extended over my left peck, angry streaks protruding from it and slithering outward in every direction, as if the green bomb-looking thing had actually hit me.
“What the fuck is happening to me?” I rasped, voice strained, straightening to my full height.
The ringing of my phone took my eyes away from the mirror, and I let go of my shirt, pulling it out of my pocket to look at the screen. There was only one number I had programmed to ring through silent mode even though they never called me. Mom’s assisted living facility.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Braxton, it’s Grace. How are you?”
“Good. It’s everything okay?” I asked, worry rushing through me.
“Yes, your mom is fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Thank God. Breathing again, I wiped my face with the towel and opened the door. “Do you need something for her?”
“Well, kind of. I needyou.” She chuckled. “I know you work long hours and we are far away from you, but I was wondering if you could come to visit Keira. She’s fine, medically, but has been a bit sad after what happened the last time you were here.”
“Mom remembers?” I asked, chest tightening with regret.
