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"No, it's not that." I tuck my arm behind my head. "It's just that I'm lying here, laughing, while Reece and Ryder probably aren't. Or maybe they are. They were laughing the last time I saw them and crying."
"The poison does that." He must be close to me, because his breath tickles my cheek when he speaks. "You were doing it, too, when they put you in here. At first, I thought you just breathed in the smoke, but then I saw the spot on your neck and guessed they shot you with a dart."
I move my hand to the back of my neck. "I thought she shot me with a gun. With everything you guys told me about the Forsaken, I figured I was dead."
"We all should be," he says bluntly. "I don't know why we're not. I think the Forsaken might have something planned. I heard a couple of them mention some sort of sacrifice, and I'm pretty sure they have more prisoners here than just us."
"I heard someone mention the same thing. Does that mean they're going to kill us eventually?"
"They may think they are, but they're not. I'm going to get us out of here." His confidence makes me almost believe him. "How did you guys even get captured? I thought you were staying in the caves." He says the caves with so much repulsion.
"We were, but something happened, and we had to leave." I wrestle back the images I saw through Lex's eyes. "Reece and Ryder thought we'd be okay because the sun was down, but then the Forsaken showed up. It was almost like they were waiting for us to step out of the cave so they could attack."
"They probably were," he says with bitterness. "They hate those caves. And they have every reason to."
"I know." I press my fingertips to my temple as my head pounds. "Ryder told me about the spirits. We think one of them--Lex--entered me. I saw all these things--his thoughts--and I--"
"What!" he shouts, his fingers shaking. "One of those disgusting creatures took over your mind?"
The sky trembles, casting multiple bolts of lightning across the clouds.
"Blaise, calm down. The sky--"
An alarming sound cuts me off, like air getting sucked through a vent. The ground begins to tremor, the grass and dirt caving in around me. I spring to my feet and search the area for a Tracker, but I can't spot one. My gaze impulsively travels upward, and my next breath gets lodged in my throat.
The grey sky has darkened to charcoal, and the clouds have solidified into funnels that gyrate and expand as they reach toward the ground.
"Blaise ..." My voice gets sucked away as a blast of wind nails me from behind.
Tornadoes. The word sears into my mind as my body flies through the air, straight toward the funnel of clouds.
"Allura!" Blaise sounds so far away.
"I'm right--" A tree collides with my body, and I go sailing sideways away from the tornadoes.
My body spins out of control, and I soar toward a forest in the distance. Not wanting to get hit by more trees, I spread my arms and legs out and try to change directions. But the wind kicks up and forces me forward, right toward a massive tree. With how fast I'm going, the impact will probably break every one of my bones. The only comfort I have is knowing I'll probably heal--well, hopefully. Since my ability is new and untested, I don't know if there are limitations.
I close my eyes and attempt to prepare myself for the pain. Blaise's face flashes through my mind, and I hang onto the image. I wish he were here with me. Or better yet, I wish I were there with him.
As if my wish comes true, strong arms enclose around me and a solid chest presses against my cheek. Even though I have no clue who this person is, I clutch the front of their shirt.
They fling their weight to the right, and I feel myself shifting directions. Moments later, the wind dies down, and I slowly descend until my feet touch the ground.
"The poison wore off." I breathe in relief. "Thank God."
"No," Blaise says, and my eyes pop open.
I tip my chin up and meet his gaze. He isn't looking at me, but at something behind me. I twist around and then my jaw nearly smacks the ground.
I didn't return to reality. Blaise entered my dream.
Chapter Ten
Monster
Blaise gapes at the torn up field, the demolished trees, and the rolling mountains that stretch as far as the eye can see.
"Wow, I didn't think I could do it." He lets out an unnatural sounding laugh. "Holy shit."
I pluck strands of hair out of my mouth, relieved to see that the tornadoes have vanished. "What's going on? Are we in dreamland? Are you real, or am I just dreaming you?"
"You're still in dreamland. I just managed to get in here with you. This is the first time I've actually physically enter someone's thoughts before. Usually, I can only mentally control what they see." He squints at the sunlight filtering through the clouds. "The blue sky."
I start to nod, but then pause. "Wait. You can control people's thoughts?"
His intense gaze glides to mine. "How did you think I was controlling what you were seeing?"
"I don't know. I guess I didn't really think about it." The idea that he can control thoughts is mind-boggling.
He crosses his arms, staring me down. "Are you afraid of me now?"
I shake my head. "No. It just seems so ... I don't know ... out there that you can do that. I didn't know that kind of stuff was possible."
"It's not for most people," he says with a simple shrug. "I'm just different."
"It's a really good thing that you are." I glance at a tree torn up from the roots. "Or else I think I might have ended up with all of my bones being broken."
His expression softens as he looks around at the trees lying sideways, the branches scattered everywhere, and the large clumps of dirt now covering the land. "Yeah, what were those things?"
"Tornadoes."
"Tornadoes? What are those?"
"When warm and cold air meet ..." I wave myself off. "Never mind. I don't know where I'm getting this stuff or if I'm even right. Information just keeps popping into my head."
"Maybe there's a reason for that." He stares at me for a heartbeat longer before taking in the scenery. "I can see why you like this place. It has a ... calm way about it."
"Yeah, I guess it does." I can't seem to take my eyes off him. He can control people's thoughts, kick holes through cars, climb down cliffs without ropes. What else can this guy do?
"Allura, your staring is making me ... I don't know ... uneasy," he admits, fidgeting with a leather band on his wrist.
I force my attention elsewhere. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about stuff."
"It's okay. It just ..." He cups the back of his neck, scuffing the tip of his boot against the dirt. "You kind of make me nervous sometimes."
"Oh. Okay." Why do I make him nervous?
"It's not bad. I'm just not used to ..." He grunts something under his breath then elevates his gaze from the ground, sweeping his hair back. "So what else is there to see around here?"
I practically get whiplash from his abrupt subject change.
"I don't know. I didn't really explore the area too much. Do we have time to?"
He shrugs. "Probably. I mean, I don't know how long you'll be under, but we can walk around until you wake up."
I nod then face the forest, preparing to endeavor into the trees. Then I hesitate.
"What's wrong?" Blaise asks, stepping up beside me.
"It's nothing. It's just that I've had a couple of memories of being in forests, and none of them are very good."
"Like what?"
I blow out a breath and tell him about the first memory I had of the man chasing me through the forest, a
bout the creature chasing me through the trees, and then about the men who shot me. I may not have technically been in the woods in that one, but I was headed there.
"This makes no sense. You've had so many memories of the trees and this world," he says after I'm finished. "Yet this place"--he motions at the land--"doesn't exist in the world we live in."
I bite on my thumbnail. "Maybe it does, but you just haven't seen it. The world is a big place, right?"
"Yeah, but I've met a couple of travelers--Zaire's actually one of them--and they've never spoken of a place like this."
"A traveler?"
"The posts have a handful of them. They're the people who get sent out to find and trade food and supplies."
I massage my arm where a tree branch nailed me. "Oh. I think the docks have them, too. Or, well, they have people who go and find food."
His brows knit. "How do you know about the docks?"
"Ryder told me about them when we were at the post." When his perplexity increases, I ask, "Did I get it wrong? Are there no travelers on the docks?"
"No, there are ... Well, the people from the docks don't refer to them as travelers, but they're pretty much the same thing." He chews on his lip, sucking on the barbell. "It's just that Ryder usually doesn't talk about the docks with strangers."
I feel a sting of hurt. I'm a stranger? I mean, I know the guys don't know me that well and vice versa, but I don't consider us strangers. Maybe I was wrong, though. I don't know much about what makes a stranger become a friend.
"Shit, I didn't mean it like that," he hurriedly says, noting my hurt expression. "I just meant that Ryder doesn't talk about the docks a lot, so I'm just a little surprised he told you about it already. It usually takes him a while to trust someone before he opens up about that part of his life." He huffs out a frustrated breath, shaking his head at himself. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. Ryder is always telling me I suck at communicating."
I stare at the spot in front of my feet at a tiny, yellow flower sprouting from the grass. "It's okay. I get it. You hardly know me." Tears pool in my eyes. I don't even know why I'm crying. I just suddenly feel so lost and alone in a big, scary, unfamiliar world.
A slow breath eases from his lips. Then he threads his fingers through mine and pulls me to his side. I have a feeling the gesture means more than I can even comprehend.
"I completely understand if you don't want to go into those trees." His fingers tremble, but he doesn't pull away. "But if you want to go exploring in there, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."
