Chapter Twenty-Eight

Vince found himself wandering through the thick forest again and this time it took him almost no time to find the creek. He sat down and crossed his legs and picked up several flat rocks. He looked up and down stream and did not see Mykella anywhere. He sighed and tossed the rocks into the creek and was mildly surprised that every one of them had skipped far past his eye could see.

“Interesting,” he whispered and then heard a rustling in the foliage behind him. He quickly turned and looked where he thought he heard the sound.

“Vince?”

He jumped and quickly stood up and spun around. He gave another sigh – this time out of relief – at the sight of Mykella standing only inches from where he had been sitting. “What’s going on around here?”

She lowered her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?” She looked around and did not seem to notice whatever made Vince so jumpy.

“The laws of physics don’t seem to apply in the dream like they used to.” He looked down stream where he had tossed the rocks. “I’ve never been able to skip rocks that far,” he said, almost to himself. “And just now, I heard a noise and you show up in the opposite direction from where I heard the noise.”

Mykella smiled and walked up to Vince and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know much about physics, whatever that is, but I can tell you that nothing different is happening.” He looked doubtful and he glanced down at her. “Besides, you’re in my dream and I won’t let anything hurt you.”

Vince grinned and shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. I have a funny feeling about this.”

She walked over to the closest tree and looked back at Vince. “If things are all screwed up, I should be able to put my arm right through this tree,” she said and turned back to the tree. She grazed the bark with the tips of her fingers first and then pushed.

She wasn’t expecting her arm to go straight through it, but she was also amazed when it did. She quickly pulled her arm back and looked at Vince with a puzzled expression. “What does this mean?”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

He walked over to her and reached down and took her hand. Although this was a dream, her flesh felt softer than usual. Her fingernails had become transparent and even her beautiful red hair had become a dull red.

“I have my suspicions,” he said and looked out at the creek.

“Please, tell me.”

He turned back to her. “I think your birthday’s coming soon.”

“What makes you say this?”

He didn’t want to say it because it almost sounded like a bad thing. “Because you’re beginning to fade from this world.”

Mykella knew what this birth meant. It was not just a normal average birthday. Her prophecy was about to be fulfilled and she didn’t know if she wanted it to begin so soon. She turned and headed for the embankment and began walking downstream.

Vince followed her in silence as he watched both Mykella and the minnows swimming in the water. He couldn’t begin to imagine the weight on her shoulders. He couldn’t imagine the sacrifice she was going to make – and has even made. Tears welled in his eyes as he watched Mykella from behind. What was going on in her mind, he could not know, but he was certain that whatever she was thinking about, pain went with it.

Mykella was watching her bare feet without registering the fact that they were moving. If she was walking, she couldn’t tell. She was not afraid to die; she already knows what is waiting for her when she does cease to live. She is comforted by the knowledge that God will be waiting for her whenever He chooses to take her back home.

She was afraid to live. She already knows what’s waiting for her when she lives. Orion is waiting for her, even now. And once he reaches the Garden of Eden, he will raise his new Dreamkillers – the next wave – and the end of humanity will be at hand.

She admired Vince for wanting to stop Orion before all this happened. They both know it must take place.

“I won’t leave you alone,” he called out and she stopped and faced Vince behind tear-filled eyes.

“I know,” she said and looked down into the water. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Vince shook his head and walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her as she sobbed into his arm. If the world is about to end, then dammit, I’m not going to let it end for her alone.

While he held Mykella, Vince took another look around the area. He had wondered why she was dreaming of such a place at one time when she had pulled him into her dream. It was a very beautiful location; a nirvana of sorts to the truth that waits for their wake. Was she dreaming of things to come? But why?