“She does the best entries,” Brigs said.
“Wait for it.” Livia chuckled.
“Oh crap,” Allie groaned right before she tossed her breakfast on the hard packed earth beneath her. She rolled over onto her back, clamping her eyes shut to ward off the nausea.
“She’s definitely not graceful.” Brigs leaned over her with an arrogant smile on his face. “You all right there, slick?”
“Shut your faces,” Allie groaned.
“Do it again!” Raina clapped.
“Ugh, when’s that going to stop?” Allie glanced up and regretted it immediately. Quinn’s entire army of walkers stood in a circle around her, staring.
“I’m thinking that’s just you, Red.” Quinn leaned down to give her a hand.
“Give me a minute.” Allie rested her head back in the grass. “I’m not ready to get off the merry-go-round yet.”
“What a wuss.” Raina cackled.
“Yep.” Allie winced, giving her a thumbs up. Sitting up and blinking at her surroundings, she saw they were in a clearing beside a well-worn path through an ancient forest of redwoods. Enormous trees scraped the sky, obscuring the sun within the depths of the forest. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere safe,” Navid said. “We’ve left the boundaries of the keep, but we’re deep within our territory.”
“You ready to see the craziest thing you’ll ever see?” Quinn hauled her to her feet.
“Sure, lead the way.” She took a step forward and wobbled.
“You all right, beautiful?” Brigs reached out to steady her. At least she thought it was Brigs. He was the handsome military type who always had a toothpick in his mouth.
“Yup, I’m good.” She laughed nervously. He was looking at her in that ‘I want to date you’ kind of way, and Allie was never good at dealing with interested boys. She tended to blurt ‘I have a boyfriend’ before they’d said anything.
“We’re good, thanks,” Livia said, sweeping past Brigs to give Allie an easy out if she wanted it.
“Thanks,” Allie muttered. Livia usually kept her distance, but Allie preferred it if she didn’t have to talk to her sister much. Things were weird between them and Allie still didn’t trust her.
“You ladies stick with me, and I’ll teach you everything you need to know.” Brigs winked.
Allie hated winking guys. The McBrien boys were the only ones allowed to wink at her. Anyone else and it was creepy. She smiled at the thought of Aidan’s reaction to flirty-boy-Brigs.
“How about you lead the way?” Livia and Allie followed him along the pathway through the forest until they reached a low-lying marshy area beside a raging river.
“All right, everyone,” Quinn called to the group. “We’ve got a short window to do this. Allie, Livia and Navid will go up to the tower to observe while we crack some heads. Let’s show them what we’re about.” He clapped once and everyone fell in line, weapons and gear appearing from nowhere.
“What tower?” Allie glanced around. There was nothing but trees and grass.
“That one.” Navid turned her back around to face the river.
“That was not there a minute ago.”
“Welcome to the dreamworld.” His smile was so wide his eyes crinkled at the edges. “It’s a dream come true to show my daughters this place. Shall we?” He grasped their hands to travel, and in the next instant, they stood atop the crumbling tower, watching the scene below.
“Uh.” Allie leaned over, clutching her stomach. “I might be sick again.”
“Deep breaths.” Navid clapped her on the back. “You’ll get used to traveling with me eventually.”
“Why isn’t she sick?” Allie shot a dirty look at her sister.
“Stronger constitution, I imagine.” Livia shot her a smirk right back.
“No one says that anymore.”
“Did you just call me old? Is that the best you’ve got?”
Navid chuckled. “Stop bickering you two, or I’m going to turn this car around and we’re going home.”
“Is he being funny?” Livia asked.
“Trying to,” Allie said. “He’s always trying, but rarely succeeds.”
“I’ve just always wanted to say that.” Navid smiled. “It’s good to hear you two tease each other. Like real sisters.”
A wave of guilt hit Allie in the gut and she didn’t miss the way Livia turned away, her shoulders stiffening like she was physically trying to be as hard as stone.
“So, what does a dreamworld battle look like?” Allie asked.
“You’re about to find out.” Navid pointed to the left side of the field where Quinn stood with four of his walkers and the right side where Brigs waited with five walkers. Raina stood at the middle, holding a red flag.
“Raina’s not fighting?”
“Not while she’s in recovery. She needs time to heal. She’s come a long way already. You should have seen her when she came looking for Quinn.”
“I assumed you guys must have rescued her,” Allie said.
“No, Raina got away from Brecken on her own, but she was so far gone, she could hardly function. She tracked Quinn for days until she finally found him and collapsed in his arms. He helped her make it back to the waking world, and we tracked her body to a long term Psychiatric facility in New Orleans. We were able to get her out, and she’s staying in Cleveland with Brigs and a few other walker friends in recovery. Naeemah and Gregg offered them the apartment Darius and Scott used to share. Raina was a mess those first few days, but Quinn wouldn’t leave her until he knew she would be okay. That’s why she thinks she’s in love with him.”
“I wonder what Aidan could do for her?” Allie mused out loud.
“Hadn’t thought of that. It might be worth exploring if she’s willing.”
“But would he have to meet her in person or here?”
“Are we interrupting your chat?” Quinn’s head popped over the parapet wall.
“Did you just climb up here?” Allie glanced over the wall to see him hanging on the ledge.
“Shall we get started now?” he asked.
“Yes, oh great Commander Loukas. You have our undivided attention. Proceed with your mock battle.”
“Nothing fake about this battle, Red.”
Allie gasped as he just let go and fell twenty feet to the ground, landing in a crouch.
Raina raised her flag and gave a warrior cry, and as she dropped it, she vanished back to the waking world.
Quinn made the first move. The ground shook, and Allie clutched at the tower wall to steady herself. In an explosion of dirt and rock, the ground shifted and the river surged across the marshland, separating Quinn’s side from Brigs’s.
Brigs responded by erecting a bridge over the canal.
The canal widened into a lake, washing the bridge away before Brigs and his team could use it.
Allie was reminded of the games back home but this was way more intense. Quinn was in his element for sure.
Allie saw boats morph from nothing more than the walker’s imaginations, as a naval battle took shape below. The lake grew deeper and wider with each passing moment until the tower was an island in the midst of a war zone.
Bombs exploded, cracking into the sides of Brigs’s main vessel.
“You sank my battleship!” he cried in outrage, replacing his sinking vessel with a submarine equipped with torpedoes.
“They’re so fast!” Allie stared in awe. Everything changed so rapidly, if she blinked, she’d miss something important.
The water receded back to the river, replaced with acres of thick, gloppy mud. Boats vanished in favor of three wheelers and trucks with huge tires.
“Now, they’re just goofing off,” Navid muttered, shaking his head.
The tide of the mock battle had shifted from trying to kill each other to seeing who could sling the most mud.
“They certainly seem to be having fun,” Livia said.
“I see what you mean about us not being able to
keep up.” Allie winced as Quinn’s four-wheeler toppled, and he went flying into the mud. But before he could hit the ground, he conjured a dirt bike and landed, spraying mud and muck all over Brigs’s team. He changed the dirt bike for a truck and sped away, laughing like a kid at the pool.
“He’s here!” Raina fell into the mud pit, screaming like a banshee, her voice booming across the clearing like a bullhorn. “Brecken is here!” She pointed at the horizon before she vanished again, unable to maintain her presence in the dreamworld.
Allie turned to see a horrific sight. Lines of soldiers as far as she could see marched toward them.
“Oh, my God.” Allie squeaked. “We have to get out of here. We’re outnumbered.”
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Navid said. “Quinn can handle it. Raina gave us enough warning to prepare.”
“Thirty seconds is enough?” She crouched low, as the first blazing orb flew through the air. “Was that a freaking catapult?” Her eyes grew wide with fear.
“When you’re a walker, thirty seconds is plenty long enough.” Navid pulled Livia down beside Allie. “And yes, that was a catapult. Remember, he can’t harm anyone with his weapons, not in the physical sense. The dreamworld is all about mental manipulation.”
“What is this? The Dark Ages?” Livia frowned, peeking between the stones to watch Brecken’s sea of soldiers march closer. “Why such a show of force if he can’t harm anyone? Is this all just about a bunch of boys playing with their toys?”
“He can still bring great harm to our minds,” Navid explained. “Remember, Brecken’s ultimate goal here is to capture Quinn and his walkers and trap them in the dreamworld. The show of force is necessary. You’re about to see what we’re really up against.”
Already, Allie struggled to keep up with everything happening on the battlefield. Before, Quinn and his walkers were just fooling around, putting on a show. Now, the clearing was a real war zone, with tanks and soldiers, machine guns right alongside catapults, trebuchets, and battering rams.
“How does he have so many walkers?” Livia asked. “I thought you were a dying breed.”
“For a long time, we were. But you need to look through the lens of a dream walker and tell me what you see.”
Allie watched the immense forces Brecken came at them with, but something didn’t add up.
“They’re all the same,” Allie finally said. “Like real live GI Joes.”
“What’s a GI Joe?” Livia asked.
“Toy soldiers,” Allie said.
“Except these aren’t toys,” Navid said.
“They’re dreamers.” Allie gasped with the realization.
“But why do they all look alike?” Livia asked.
“They all look like Brecken,” Navid explained. “The real Brecken is somewhere down there in the middle of a thousand faces.”
“So, we can’t find him.” Allie’s shoulders fell.
“Brilliant,” Livia murmured, her tone admiring.
“He’s the enemy.” Allie glared at her sister.
“I didn’t say it was good for us. It’s just a smart, tactical maneuver we’ll have to overcome.”
“We have to help those soldiers back to their dreamscapes?” Allie asked.
“One good shove will send them back to the safety of their own dreamscape,” Navid explained.
“That’s it?” Livia frowned.
“They are programed to fight anyone who interferes.”
“Why bother?” Livia asked, looking perplexed.
“Seriously?” Allie shook her head. “Those are innocent mortals out there.”
“But they can’t like, die here, right? This is just a dream for them?”
“Yes, they are merely dreaming,” Navid said. “But Brecken and his walkers feed on their fear to make themselves stronger.”
“So we bust our asses to save a bunch of zombie dreamers from a bad dream so Brecken can’t syphon their fear? Unless we can remove the vast majority of these dreamers, it seems like a waste of energy to even bother.”
“But we will do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Allie said. But she was kind of wondering the same thing. Part of her wanted to get caught up in the crazy battle her mind couldn’t keep up with. Helping the dreamers was the equivalent to being the ball boy at the World Series. They were close to the main event, but their part was rather boring.
“Can you tell who those dreamers are by looking at them?” Navid asked patiently.
“No, they’re disguised to look like Brecken,” Livia responded.
“Dreamers are an interesting lot. They’re all susceptible to the whims of the dream walkers who control this world. Some more than others. Children for instance.”
“Are you saying all those soldiers are just kids?” Livia frowned.
“Not one of them will be older than ten and Brecken keeps these same children tethered to him. Whenever they fall asleep, he pulls them in to fight his battles. To them, this battle will be a nightmare that will haunt them forever. Children’s minds are different. They experience the dreamworld in a way that makes them more like you two, actually. They are more cognizant of what happens here. Their dreams are hyper-realistic and when they wake, they will not be able to shake this nightmare.
“These mortal children caught up in our nonsense here will develop night terrors, insomnia, hallucinations and even long term depression and anxiety. The longer Brecken keeps them tethered, the more likely they will suffer from mental illness. We recently learned several of Brecken’s young dreamers have committed suicide to escape the terrors of their dreams. Those are extreme cases, but many more are growing ill from lack of sleep because they are too afraid to fall asleep. So yes, they can be injured, but in a much less obvious way. The dreamworld is a psychological minefield for dreamers, mortal or Immortal. If you two can save even a single child from that fate, it will be worth it.”
“He does that to children on purpose?” Allie glowered at the scene below, wishing she could get her hands on the real Brecken. “He doesn’t deserve this power.” Her judgment gift thirsted for his immortality and Allie didn’t think she’d feel bad about using it on him.
“He might not have a choice, Allie,” Livia said softly. “Sometimes, there is more to the bad guy than just his actions. Someone more important is always pulling the strings behind the scenes, and we need to find out who that is. This whole thing has Marcus Servius written all over it. I just don’t know what he hopes to gain by having a foothold in this world.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Navid said.
Now that she knew Navid was her real father, Livia had stopped calling Marcus her father. It was clear to anyone who listened to her talk about Marcus that she hated him and everything he stood for.
So why am I still struggling to forgive her for a past I know she had little control over? Not for the first time, Allie wondered what it would be like to think of Livia as a real sister. But no matter how much Marcus manipulated Livia, in the end she still made terrible choices and Allie wasn’t sure she could ever forgive that.
“What are those other towers?” Livia asked, pointing toward Brecken’s army.
“Those are prison worlds—very dangerous dreamscapes,” Navid said.
Allie peeked over the parapet to see the towers. Across the wide open expanse of the battlefield, dozens of black stone towers appeared, dotting the clearing that was empty only a moment ago.
“I get a hella bad vibe from those things,” Allie said.
“Allie and Livia rule number three of the dreamworld,” Navid began, “do not, under any circumstances, go anywhere near one of those towers. They have a gravity-like force that will pull you inside, and once you’re in there, we might not be able to get you out. Those dreamscapes were designed to trap a walker. I don’t know how or if they will affect you, but I’d rather not find out.”
“So if you get pulled in, you’re stuck in there forever?” Allie asked.
“Forever,” Navid sai
d. “Unfortunately, that is what this battle is about. Brecken is here to trap Quinn and his walkers inside his prison world. It’s his way of taking leadership of the dreamworld by force. He intends to trample over anyone who stands against him.”
“Once inside one of those things, couldn’t you just wake up?” Livia asked.
“No.” Navid shook his head sadly. “Brecken’s towers force his captives into a stasis where they aren’t fully asleep or awake. It’s only a matter of time before those inside either succumb to the insanity or submit to his rule.
“Stay away from the creepy nightmare towers, check, check,” Allie said, a shiver of fear running down her spine. “Does Quinn have enough walkers to fight this guy? Maybe we should retreat and try again when we have more numbers.”
“Quinn has talent on his side. All of those loyal to him are well equipped to handle this fight. And they know to stay far away from the towers. Brecken’s walkers are much weaker, and fickle.”
Another round of fireballs sailed through the sky.
“Why on earth are they using such old technology?” Livia asked.
Allie glanced over the parapet to see the two sides engaged in a battle straight out of …
“World of War!” Allie stood up, peering over the wall. Soldiers in fancy armor. Swords from the pages of fantasy novels, even the creepy towers made more sense now. “What the hell is going on down there?”
“Allie, get down.” Navid pulled her back behind the parapet. “What have you seen?”
“It’s a freaking game. Brecken’s turned the dreamworld into like … a virtual reality video game.”
“A game?” Livia sneered. “What’s the point of that?”
“I have no idea, but he’s read way too many fantasy novels. He’s out there playing war games for his own amusement.”
“Idiots. Every one of them,” Livia muttered, staring down at the rapidly changing carnage below. “Wasting everyone’s time with this nonsense.”
Allie nodded. “Boys and their stupid toys.”
“Well, let’s get down there and save some kids,” Livia said with a weary sigh.
Emerge- The Betrayal Page 14