by Susan Wu
“Are you okay?” Zefa’s eyes rake over my body, do a mental examine as he releases my shoulders. Unable to hold myself up, I slouch back against my pillow.
I try to nod but my head feels too heavy. I clear my throat and my voice is hoarse from screaming, “Yeah, I'm okay now. Thanks for waking me up. Sorry about that, I don't usually do that. It was, uh, just a bad dream.”
“Fallon, I am no fool. You have your father’s gift. For you, there is no such thing as ‘just a bad dream.’ Tell me what you can recollect.”
As the pain fades so does my memory of the dream, I try to describe as much as possible to Zefa. “And then there was this blinding light from the sun reflecting off the snow. But the pain from it spread inside my body—it was indescribable. Like a hot poker pressed directly to my pain center, lighting up all my nerves at once.”
When I finish, Zefa gets up and starts pacing, muttering under his breath. “This is a bad omen. We should leave this planet now.”
“Why? What does my dream tell you?”
“The pain you described. I have experienced pain like that once before in my life. It can only mean on person is coming for you.”
“Who?” I whisper, his expression frightening me more than the dream.
He perches on the edge of the bed, “Xak had another son, Epir’s half brother named Fyro. He has a very rare and particularly barbaric mental ability--the psionic blast you described. He can cause immense pain without a single touch. His mind can cause such agony, it disables his opponents completely. I have witnessed men driven to madness from the pain.”
I grab Zefa’s hands pleadingly, desperately, “Zefa, I also dreamt that Ethan died trying to warn me. We have to go back to Earth. They're going to try to get to me through him. We have to find Ethan and take him with us.”
He pulls away easily and starts pacing again. “I do not interpret it that way. It could be a trap. Ethan could be the reason Fyro captures you. I do not think returning to Earth is the best idea. It is simply too dangerous.”
“How can you say that? Some I care about is in the crosshairs of a lunatic who can cause pain without a single touch! How far do you think they would go to get to me? Ethan is clueless about what's going on. We've left him completely defenseless!”
“Fallon, you must understand. I swore to your father I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. We cannot go back.”
I recall another part of my dream, “If you don't take me back to Earth to find Ethan I am walking off this ship. We'll see exactly how much carbon dioxide there is in the atmosphere. How many times can you lie to me and still expect me to trust you?”
Zefa slams his fist into the wall in frustration, forming a dent in the smooth surface. “Fine. We will go back. But under my terms. You will listen to my instruction and not question me. You would do well to heed my advice once in a while.”
He storms out of the room and I follow quietly behind him. I dare not breathe until we are out of sight of the planet's surface.
The trip back to Earth seemed to take even longer than I remember. After landing in the forest, Zefa “borrows” another car. It is late afternoon, the darkest time of day in Everest Heights. The sun has already set, but the moon hasn’t quite risen in the sky.
I am back in my hometown standing outside Ethan's house. It's strange to think I thought I would never return to Earth, let alone see Ethan again. I was expecting us to fly to London, but Zefa assured me that Ethan would be here. For someone who never intended to come back for Ethan, Zefa knew exactly where to find him. He must have been keeping tabs on him.
Luck is on my side for once--Ethan answers the door after a few frantic peels of the doorbell. I have played this scenario out every minute since I woke up from that horrible nightmare. There are a million things I wanted to say to him but the moment I see his face, my mind goes blank.
Ethan stands frozen in the doorway, staring wordlessly at me in absolute disbelief. He looks so weary, it’s heartbreaking to see. I start worrying that maybe this was not the best approach. He tilts his head to the side, “Are you really here? Is this really happening?”
I am taken aback by his reaction, “What do you mean? Of course, I'm really here.”
Ethan reaches out and strokes my cheek with the side of his hand. “You feel so real. It's hard for me to tell whether you’re real. I've been dreaming about you a lot, Fallon. You always tell me you shouldn't be there. That your very presence in my dreams is a great danger.” He looks at me curiously like he's expecting me to confirm his suspicions.
His revelation startles me because I recall these instances. I had dreamt of Ethan often since leaving Earth. Most of my other dreams are hazy memories, but I realize now that my dreams of Ethan are quite vivid. I always thought my perfect recall only worked when I was awake. Was I conscious in my subconscious? Was this a whole new aspect of my abilities? The possibilities make my head spin. I’ll have to ask Zefa about it later.
“Ethan it really isn't safe for us to talk out here. But this time, it isn't a dream. I'm really here. There’s a lot I need to tell you.”
His expression is rueful as he ushers me inside the living room, “I thought I would never see you again. Never hear your voice. Never feel your touch.”
“I thought I was never coming back. But something has changed.”
“What's going on?”
Ethan and I walk over to one of the couches and sit down. He pulls my hands into his and I feel the same way, not wanting to lose a moment of contact. I start looking around nervously, knowing Zefa is outside, monitoring the perimeter. “Is your mom home?”
“No, luckily she's not. She would probably have a fit if she saw you.”
The threat of tears sting my eyes, “She has every right to never want to see me again. I feel tremendous regret for the way I left things.”
“Is that why you're back now? To make things right?”
“Something to that effect. The reason I'm back now is because I've put you in danger. I shouldn't have left you exposed like this.”
“What danger? Exposed how?”
“Ethan, the danger I've been warning you about. It's serious. My father has a lot of enemies which means I have a lot of enemies. I’m being hunted.”
His fingers tighten over mine, horrorstruck, “Why are his enemies hunting you? You’re only a 17 year old girl.”
“They want to hurt my father. Killing me or taking me hostage or worse is the surest way of doing so.”
“Why did you come back then? You’re putting yourself in danger!” He releases one of my hands to rake his fingers through his already wild hair. He is exasperated now.
“I thought my leaving would be the safest option for you, but it's not anymore. But they will target people associated with me as well. They’ll come after you the hardest. I need you to leave with me. Go somewhere safe until this mess is over. I... I had one of my dreams Ethan. You died. Because of me.”
Ethan changes the topic from his impeding death, “Whose that man stalking my driveway?”
“That would be Zefa. My father sent him.”
“Is he some sort of bodyguard? Soldier? I really don't like the look of him. He’s going to freak out the neighbors. How do you know he can be trusted?”
“Zefa is harmless. Well, to me anyway. He is an advisor to the Phynx war council. My father trusts him so I guess I have to trust him.”
He frowns at my explanation, “Who is Zefa protecting you from?”
I launch into an explanation of Epir and Izic's past and the war between the Phynx and Eku leading up to the dream I had about him. When I finish, I realize tears have started streaming down my face. My heart is seized in my chest, I can still feel the weight of Ethan in my arms—still see the life draining from his eyes.
Ethan pulls me tightly against his chest. “Why didn't you tell me you were in trouble Fallon? I want you to know, no matter what, I will be by your side. I would rather stare death in the eye than let you go
through this alone.”
“I'm a danger to everyone around me. I wish I could go back to when everything was normal. But I guess I was never normal, just blissfully unaware of my anomalies.” Not wanting sympathy from the boy I’ve condemned to die, I wrench away from him. I start pacing in front of the couch as he watches me warily.
On my third pass, Ethan grabs me around the waist. “Fallon, no force alive will wrench me from your side. When you were gone, I was a mess. I had to leave London early because I was going out of my mind. My brother was asking me too many questions that I had no answers to. Mostly, I just wanted to be alone. I need to be with you.”
“I was a mess without you too. I wasn't very good company for poor Zefa.”
“Poor Zefa,” Ethan mutters under his breath. “Just give me a minute to pack some things and write my mom a note. You sit tight, I'll be right out.”
“You’ll need lots of warm clothes for where we’ll be staying. What are you going to tell your mom?”
“That I need to get away for a while to find who I am. She knows your sudden leaving has been... very difficult for me. But she'll accept my explanation. She's very big on self exploration and independence.”
Fresh tears trickle down my face, “I'm sorry, Ethan. I feel wretched about this. I’m asking you to leave your family behind. Your friends. Your life as you know it. I'm asking a lot of you, Ethan, but I couldn't sit idly by and let you get killed because of what I am.”
He gently squeezes my hand, “I have felt like a new person since I met you, Fallon. I've lived in many places, met many people in my life. But it was like I didn't know my place in this universe until I found it next to with you. Now let me get my things, I'll be back in two minutes.”
Ethan runs upstairs to his bedroom and I wander into the kitchen and sit down on a stool at the counter, waiting for Ethan. I look through the bay window and watch as Zefa circles the perimeter and walks toward the backyard. The sky is thick with clouds but the night is still. I am anxious to leave as quickly as possible before the neighbors notice Zefa's presence.
The house is too quiet and I can hear the thudding of my heart filling up the room. Outside, Zefa stops pacing and his head snaps up, suddenly on alert. My heart leaps into my throat. An image of Ethan with blood spreading across his chest flashes in my mind. Instantly, I am on my feet and running out the back door into the backyard.
Before I can ask him what's happening, I watch helplessly as Zefa collapses onto the ground. The latch to the gate unhinges and I turn to see whose approaching from the front, but I'm blinded by the beam of a light. I put up my hand to shield my eyes from the assault but the light only burns brighter. I start to scream as a burning agony lights up every nerve in my body. And just as suddenly, the night goes completely black.
Ethan
I am zipping up my suitcase when I hear the back door bang open. I freeze mid-zip, alarmed by the sudden noise. A heartbeat later, a scream of pure agony cuts through the still of the night, the sound piercing through me. Every hair on my body stands and I am instantly on my feet and running. Grabbing a baseball bat from my closet, I pound down the stairs two at a time. I don’t see Fallon in the living room where I left her so I follow the sound out the open back door.
It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. I spot Zefa lying in the grass next to the wooden fence, his limbs splayed out. A pool of blood is collecting at an alarming rate from a gash on his head. Fallon is nowhere in sight. My sense of panic is bubbling over as my eyes scan the darkness.
“Fallon! Fallon!” I call her name out with an increasing dismay as I run toward Zefa. I crouch down and place my ear next to his mouth and press my fingertips against his throat. He’s still breathing and his pulse is chugging sluggishly beneath my fingers. I leave him lying in the grass and leap up, unlatching the back gate and running out to the alley.
I look around frantically, but both directions are quiet and empty. There is no sign of a disturbance or struggle. Running through the yard again, I emerge onto the street and again, there are no signs of life. In the eerie stillness of the night, I can hear her scream echoing in my mind.
I run down the street and around the block, looking for anything. Any clue or sign of which direction they went. Fallon’s gone. Someone took her. Someone strong enough to knock out her bodyguard. Someone powerful enough to melt into the night. My blood runs cold at the thought. I run back into the yard and crouch down once again beside Zefa’s prone body. I shake him hard and it takes a moment before he rouses awake with a deep moan. He tries to push himself up but I can tell he is wobbly from blood loss. I place my hands around his shoulders, helping him sit up.
I notice the strange rings tattooed on his forearm as his fingers reach up to the gash on his temple. His tone is groggy but still matter-of-fact, “How long was I out?”
“I don’t know. Ten minutes? Fifteen? Someone... Fallon was... She was...” my voice gets caught in my throat.
He doesn’t hesitate to complete my sentence, “Taken.”
“I heard the back door open followed by Fallon screaming. I was upstairs and I came running out as fast as I possibly could. You were lying here, unconscious. She was already gone.”
Fallon
The room is completely dark when I awake. I am seized by panic, unsure of where I am. I reach out instinctively to turn on the light on the nightstand. It flickers on and it takes my eyes a second to adjust. I am in my bed, in my bedroom, in my house, in Everest Heights. For a brief moment, I feel relief followed immediately by confusion. My head is pounding and my heart is thundering, a thin sheen of sweat covering my body.
Dread fills my heart as I scramble out from under the covers. I am unsure whether I am asleep or awake, but I know time is of the essence. Flinging open my bedroom door, I run outside downstairs in a panic. I jam my feet inside my sneakers and fly out the front door, not bothering to shut it.
Ethan. I have to go to Ethan.
Harried, I leap off the top of the porch stairs instead of walking down the steps. My feet barely touch the ground before I start running. All the training from my sleepless nights pay off as my feet eat up the pavement.
My hair whips behind me as I pump my legs. The adrenaline keeps me going at my max all the way to Ethan’s. When I reach his door, I can barely suck in a full breath let alone fill my lungs with enough air to scream. I ring the doorbell endlessly and pound frantically on the front door praying his mom isn't the one who comes to the door. No one seems to be home. Where the hell are they? Were they in trouble?
I scramble around to the side of the house not wanting to be seen by a nosy neighbor. I have every intention of breaking one of the back windows when a low moan rises from the backyard, instantly pumping life back into my limbs. Next to the wooden fence, a body is lying motionless in the shadows. I slowly lower myself down onto my knees and carefully turn the figure over. The moonlight cast in his eyes make them an eerie bluish silver.
“Are you okay? Your head is bleeding.” I gingerly apply pressure to the cut on his head with the sleeve of my shirt.
A sharp hiss of pain escapes through his clenched teeth and he can barely moan out, “It hurts everywhere, Fallon.”
Hearing my name on his lips triggers a memory and I am suddenly conscious that I am unconscious. I'm aware that I’m inside a dream. But this is not my dream. It’s Zefa's dream.
“Zefa, I'm not really here with you. You're still unconscious. I don't know how much time I have or how much you'll remember when you wake up. Fyro came for me. You can’t let my father’s enemies hurt Ethan. This is not his war.”
He groans as he heaves himself into a sitting position, “That is not a promise I can make. Epir won't let anything or anyone stand in his way.”
“I don't want you to come after me. They want to use me as a hostage, please don’t let it work. I don’t want him to use people as bargaining chips. Just promise me you’ll take care of Ethan in whatever way you can.”
His voice is anguished, showing emotion for once, “Fallon, you do not know what you are asking of me.”
I grip Zefa's hands in mine, pleading with him. “Don’t let my sacrifice be for nothing. I was always willing to risk my life for his. It's too late to save me, please save Ethan.”
Suddenly, the ground starts trembling and then it begins to shake violently. His eyes are wide with shock and fear, “What is going on?”
I give his hands one last squeeze, “You're waking up. Thank you for everything, Zefa.”
Peering into the endless abyss of a deep, black tunnel, I am waiting for something to arrive. For a long time, I stare into the empty darkness and there is nothing. Then two pinpricks of light appear and I can just begin to hear the faint whistle of the oncoming train. The spots of light grow larger and the roar of the engine grows louder. Second by second, the train is barreling closer. A sigh of relief escapes my lips--I have been waiting so long.
The lights are growing closer, blazing so brightly they hurt my eyes but I can’t turn away. My eyes begin to water from the searing brightness. The noise only intensifies the pain. The wheels are screeching as the train thunders along the tracks, the metallic clang raking my eardrums. The noise makes my skull vibrate.
Distracted by the paralyzing pain, I realize too late that I am standing on the tracks. The train is a millimeter away and I have just enough time to squeeze my eyes shut.
I peel my eyelids back and the effort is painful. My skull feels like its been split open with a crowbar. Hesitantly, I try to sit up but drop back down, my arms shaking from the effort. Slowly, I pull myself up against the wall and have to lean against it so I don’t fall over. The front of my shirt is covered in blood. Every fiber in my body is vibrating from the aftermath of the pain. So I wasn’t just obliterated by a train.