by Lucy Adler
“Wow,” she said, staring up and down the river. “I mean... wow.”
“Yeah, it’s something else,” Brett said. “They used to call this Artist Point.”
“I can see why.”
“I like to come up here sometimes just to think and clear my head. It’s also a great place to get inspired. And that’s why I thought it would be fitting for what we’re going to talk about.”
“I’m not sure if I’m more excited about learning some cool new ability, or just to finally know what Aury can do!”
Brett laughed.
“She takes this to a different level with her imagination,” he replied. “But I’m curious about what you’ll do with it,” he said with a wink.
They sat down on some rocks nearby, both of them facing the gaping void between the north and south rims.
“We call this particular gift Casting, like the way a person or a tree casts a shadow in the sun. Only, instead of the light of the sun, you’re creating a form in the ‘light’ of your gift.”
“That kinda makes sense,” Daria nodded.
“Did you see Corey or Max use any of their abilities?”
“Corey did, when he first rescued me from the Institute.” Daria explained what happened that fateful evening in Corridor F. She paused as she remembered how safe he had made her feel, right at the moment when her life felt like it was crumbling to pieces. She couldn’t help smiling when she recalled the last thing he said to her before he shut the door to the van: “You’re safe now, Dasha. Remember that, because everything you know is about to change.”
Wherever you are, I hope you’re safe, too.
“So, for most casters,” Brett continued, “the dream figure is the standard form. It can range in size but it’s always humanlike in shape.”
“And what’s the point of it?” Daria asked. “Sorry, I don’t mean that in a condescending way!”
“You know how the Doctors like to ‘enhance’ all the food in Progress? Think of it like an ‘enchanced’ version of yourself.”
“I like that idea,” Daria laughed.
“Since our powers are accessed through the dream-state, which requires us to be still, Casting allows those of us who have the ability to create a sort of substitute body that can move and interact with the physical world. Some of us channel that power with great force, like Max. He’s sort of a wrecking ball, you might say! Others channel it in more subtle ways, like what you said Corey did to... what’s his name?”
Jerk-face.
“Eric.”
“Right. So, in that case, the power moving through Corey basically shut down Eric’s mind and body. To be quite honest, we don’t really understand just what exactly happens with that ability!” Brett laughed. “But Corey was a master of it. We know it doesn’t hurt them physically, or have any lasting effects. It basically just incapacitates them for a period of time - anywhere from twenty minutes to a few days. Of course, the more intense the flow of power, the more of a toll it takes on the sleeper.”
“Yeah, I learned about that after my big ‘jump’ to the cabin. I slept for like two days.”
“Exactly. You always need to bear that in mind when you move in the dream-state. It’s not free - there’s always a price to pay.”
“That makes it sound kind of... I don’t know... evil, or something.”
“It’s not that kind of price. It’s just the reality of frail humans operating as the conduits for a much greater power.”
“About that,” Daria replied with a frown. “No one’s told me yet where all of this comes from in the first place. I know about the purple glow in my - in our brains, and I know it’s a gift, and it speaks to me, and all that. But what is it, really?
A distant look filled Brett’s eyes as he stared off over the canyon, then upriver at the waterfall.
“It’s ancient. It’s been with us since the beginning. But we didn’t create it, and it’s not ours. As the Dark rises, so does this power, confronting it in every generation - especially when the battle is most dire.”
As Brett continued staring into the distance, Daria’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open a little.
“Sorry!” he laughed, worrying that might have scared her. “I like to write stories and poetry, so sometimes I get carried away! But at the same time, it’s not an exaggeration. That’s exactly what this is. An ancient power. And the Dark is very real, as you’ve seen for yourself. And, well, yeah... it seems like a battle, one that’s still beginning to take shape.”
Daria took a minute to process what she was hearing.
It really wasn’t that crazy. In fact, as much as it freaked her out, it also made sense of pretty much everything she’d been through for the past week or more.
She also recalled the first time she had walked through the purple stars and comets. How she had thought - no, felt - that they were ancient. Maybe even from outside of time altogether.
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself, though,” Brett said. “You’ll learn more as the days and months unfold. We’re all learning. Sleepers seem to be the latest ‘expression’ of this power, a version of the gift that only began to emerge in the wake of Sendrax and the rise of Progress. It’s still relatively new, and no one has all the answers.”
“That definitely helps, though,” Daria said. “It’s also pretty exciting, to be honest.”
“Yeah it is!” Brett said with a clap of his hands. He scooped up some snow and packed it into a tight ball. Then he threw it in a gentle arc out over the canyon.
As they watched it disappear below them, something else caught their attention.
“Whoa!” Daria whispered as a giant bird suddenly came into view.
It’s wings were outstretched as it drifted along with the wind that passed lazily through the canyon.
It’s soft brown feathers contrasted with its bright white head and yellow beak.
“Is that an eagle?” she asked.
“Yes it is,” Brett said with a note of wonder in his voice. “You see them fairly often in the park. But you never get used to them. At least, I don’t!”
The bird floated effortlessly as it rose higher, only adjusting the tips of its feathers here and there to steady itself on its course. They watched it until it veered off over the north side of the canyon and vanished from their sight.
“That was...” Daria said quietly, not having the right words to finish her thought.
“Feels like something special, just for you.”
She let the moment warm her inside.
“Alright,” Brett said, changing the subject. “Shall we try some casting now?”
____________________________
Daria closed her eyes and settled her body.
They had moved down onto the ground in front of the rocks where they had been sitting, just so she could lean back against them and relax.
The rushing sound of the distant waterfall created a focal point for her mind that made it easy to release her other thoughts.
“Now,” Brett said as he sat beside her, “when you enter the dream-state, I want you to envision yourself sitting here, leaning against the rocks, enjoying the view. I want you to focus on your physical body until you get the sense that you can move it.”
“Move it?”
“You’ll get what I mean when you’re in the moment. Give it a try and we’ll see how it goes. If you’re unsure, just come back out of the dream-state so we can talk about it.”
Daria opened her right eye and glanced over at him.
“Um... I think I can enter your dream-state... you know, if you want to go there too, then we can talk while I’m doing this thing?”
“Ah, that’s right,” Brett said, pointing at her, “you spent the morning with Livy!”
Daria gave him a shy smile.
“I haven’t exactly had time to practise it. We spent most of our lesson talking,” she laughed. “But I can give it a try!”
“Sure, then let’s do that. If you can’t ma
nage it, or don’t have the energy for both, don’t stress.”
____________________________
The Veil.
The lights.
The comets.
Was it strange that she felt like they were her little pets, prancing around, excited to see her?
“I’m happy to see you, too!”
She considered where to begin.
Brett had said to envision her physical body there on the edge of the canyon.
Then she remembered her confrontation with Dr. Reston. How she had been able to look down on herself from somewhere outside herself.
She remembered that she was sitting when it happened, so she did the same now, crossing her legs and resting her hands on her knees.
She focused.
And she asked.
Not with words but with an urging of her own.
And the gift answered her.
RISE.
Suddenly, she was looking down on herself, and Brett, as they leaned against the rocks, the canyon stretching out before them.
I should tell him.
She focused on her new friend, reaching out with the same part of her that was able to hear the ancient voice of the gift.
She closed her eyes and felt as though she were approaching another veil, thinner and less imposing than the one that guarded the dream-state.
She pressed through.
But instead of lights and stars and comets, there was only blackness.
A still, empty blackness.
“Brett?”
“I’m here. Well done, Daria!”
“Whoa, it worked!” she said, feeling a flutter of excitement. “But I can’t see anything.”
“Livy tells me you’re not supposed to. Apparently each person’s dream-state is their own refuge, their sanctuary within the gift. We can communicate but you can’t join me here.”
“I like that,” Daria said. The idea humbled her, in a good way.
“Alright,” she continued, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m looking down on us. I’m going to try casting now.”
“You should probably break this connection first. Don’t want to expend too much energy till you know how you’re going to feel.”
“Ok. Are you watching us, too?”
“Yup. Go for it.”
She stepped back and the secondary veil closed over the blackness between them. Then she focused on her physical body again.
It wasn’t so much that she could feel her limbs or the muscles and joints within them.
It was more that she could feel their potential.
An energy, flowing through them like the blood in their veins.
And she felt it responding to her curiosity.
As she nudged her left arm, suggesting how it ought to move, a shadow emerged from her physical body. A shadow in the shape of her left arm.
She reached forward, then rotated it, palm up. The fingers wiggled, curling up, then pointing straight ahead. And she was able to bend her arm at the elbow, just like normal.
This is beyond cool!
She nudged the right now. Even before the shadow of her other arm had fully emerged, she nudged her legs and the rest of her body as well.
A dream figure sprang to life, roughly half again taller than Daria’s physical frame.
She spread her arms out to the sides, then touched her face.
There was no texture or substance to it. It was more like energy upon energy, flowing in perfect harmony.
What should I try?
Maybe I can ask Brett?
She focused her mind, biting her lower lip as she concentrated as hard as she could.
She held control of the dream figure with part of her senses while reaching out to Brett with another.
The other veil stood before her, only it felt much heavier this time. It was an effort to pass through.
Then the blackness.
“Brett?”
“Still here!”
“I think I’m doing it!” Daria said excitedly.
“Um, are you watching?” he replied hesitantly.
Daria suddenly realised that she had lost her grip on the energy.
She reached out, like someone feeling for a light switch in a dark room.
“Come on...” she whispered.
As she groped about in the dream-state, she felt the connection with Brett fall away.
She looked down on their bodies again, just in time to see the dream figure flickering and fading.
No, no, no!
Hold on!
She summoned every ounce of energy and was able to reestablish control just in time, like catching someone who’s stumbling backwards.
The dream figure returned to its shadowy form, standing upright and still.
Whew. Alright, this is obviously going to take some practice!
But at least I gave it a shot.
I think that’s enough for now. I’m starting to feel it.
She eased the visage back into her physical body, its size diminishing as it returned to her.
Then she rose up from her seated position and departed through the Veil.
____________________________
“So I can’t do both... yet!” Daria said with a laugh. “But I’m happy with what I was able to do!”
“That’s the right attitude,” Brett replied, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “Take your time. Learn things thoroughly and learn them well. This was a great start.”
“Thanks,” she said.
Then, out of the blue, she felt something welling up within her. And she suddenly had the strangest need for a hug.
Would that be weird?
She stepped over to him from the side and wrapped her arm around him.
“Thanks, Brett. That was awesome.”
“No problem, Daria. Are you alright?” he asked, hugging her back.
Before she knew it, a tear had slipped from her left eye. She pulled back and wiped it away.
“I don’t know, just feeling emotional. I think Jake was right. He told me that this place, the settlement and the people here, would be everything the Institute claimed to be, only for real. Even though this is all so wild and supernatural, I still feel like I’m... discovering myself. For real this time.”
She paused before she continued, looking back at the waterfall.
“And it’s been a long time since I’ve thought there was anything worth discovering!” she said, half laughing, half choked up with emotion.
Now it was Brett who felt the need to give her a hug. He pulled her in close, wrapping his arm around her shoulders again, like a gentle big brother.
He didn’t say anything but Daria leaned her head against him and let out a deep sigh of contentment.
____________________________
“What did you guys get up to this afternoon?”
Daria asked her question as the three of them lounged in front of the fireplace that evening. They were sipping hot cocoa from uneven mugs - the result of someone’s early experiment at making kitchenware for the settlement.
“I got to drive the snowmobile this time!” Brix said with a proud smile.
“Yeah, and I’m not sure if driving is for you,” Jake added with a roll of his eyes.
“I got us back here way faster than you got us out there!”
“Oh, I know!”
“Where’s ‘there’?” Daria asked.
“First, we went back out to the greenhouses. You really gotta check those out, Dashy, they’re pretty awesome. And they’re huge! Anyway, we grabbed a few lemons. Have you ever eaten one of those fresh? Whoa!” Brix said, twisting and contorting her face to communicate the experience. “But kinda fun, too.”
“Maybe tomorrow!” Daria said excitedly. “I think I’m supposed to relax for a day, no lessons or anything.”
“Then Jake took me past where they generate power from the geo stuff... geoturtle... wait, geothermal!”
“But geoturtle power could be cool,” Jake laughed. �
�Seems like it would be kind of hard to get them moving, though.”
Brix punched him in the shoulder, then continued her story. She was even more ‘herself’ than normal that evening, and Daria was glad that her best friend seemed to be adjusting to their new environment so well. And not feeling like an outsider.
“He also showed me the places where they store most of their supplies. Maybe not as exciting as lemons or geoturtles, but still interesting.”
“Just a couple of buildings near the settlement here,” Jake clarified. “It’s where we keep things like firewood, fuel for the trucks and snowmobiles, and food that’s going to be eaten that week. But we also have some shelters and old-fashioned cellars dug into the hillside up there,” he added, pointing in the direction Daria had gone with Livy that morning. “People in rural areas used to do that back in the Former Days.”
Daria started yawning.
“I’m sorry, I guess we’re boring you!” he teased her.
“No, no! Just been a really long day,” she said as another yawn overtook her. “I think I need to go to bed. Aren’t you guys tired? You had a big day out.”
“Yeah, I could use some rest,” Jake said, rubbing his eye.
“Sure. I’m ready for bed,” Brix said with a smile that didn’t look very tired.
It wasn’t long before the three of them said their final goodnights and retired to their separate rooms.
As Daria lay in bed, she had a cheeky thought.
I wonder if I could say hi to Jake with my new trick?
He wouldn’t mind, right?
It’s only been a few minutes though. I need to give him time to fall asleep.
Daria did her best to stay awake for another half hour, hoping that Jake would be out by then and she could try to visit him in his dreams.
____________________________
She reached out with her mind, just as she had done with Brett that afternoon.