Dying to Return (The Station #3)

by Trish Marie Dawson

  DYING to RETURN

  The Station – Volume 3

  By Trish Marie Dawson

  DYING to RETURN

  Text copyright © 2012 Trish Marie Dawson

  eBook Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher: Trish Marie Dawson.

  The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  If you have read this far into The Station Series, this book is for you.

  Dreams after you’ve died are an interesting thing… - Piper Willow

  TABLE of CONTENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  ABOUT the AUTHOR

  TRISH's BOOKS and COLLABORATIONS

  PROLOGUE

  "Piper?" Kerry-Anne's voice is low, soothing, and when I look over at her, she's staring hard at my features.

  "I'm sorry, Kerry-Anne. There's something I need to tell you." I brace my arms against the rim, taking a deep breath while Kerry-Anne wiggles into a more comfortable position.

  "Okay, anything," she says happily, but still with a serious expression on her face.

  "I'm leaving." I said it bluntly on purpose. I can't stand the thought of explaining it all to her. It feels sort of like ripping off a band-aide…it just needs to be done quickly.

  "Leaving? You already have your next Assignment? But you just got back, didn't you?" she asks me with large, brown eyes. They were the sort of eyes you would expect to see from a startled doe, not a girl as tiny as she was.

  I turn around so that I'm facing her with my whole body, folding my legs into a pretzel shape. Slight lines crease on her forehead as I take one of her petite hands in mine. The moment we touch I feel waves of energy leave me and pass into her, like we created a bridge between us.

  With a sigh, I smile my best smile and squeeze her hands gently. "No, honey. I'm leaving the Station. And I don't know for how long, but I will be back."

  Slowly she blinks, as if processing my words a few dozen times. "Leaving?" her voice squeaks, barely above a whisper.

  I nod. "Yes, but I will come back, you understand that, right?"

  Her chin trembles as she whispers, "Where are you going?"

  "I don't know." It was an honest answer, and I didn't want to lie to her.

  Her hands jerk from mine and I'm knocked slightly backwards as she launches her much smaller body into my lap, wrapping her thin arms tightly around my neck. She doesn't cry, at least not then. But I sense the emotion bubbling up below the surface.

  "It's okay. I'll be back before you know it, just watch."

  "You better be," she says as she stands up abruptly and steps away from me, her chin beginning to pucker as she struggles to hold back the trembles. "You're my best friend." She rushes off, and I quickly lose her in the crowd.

  You're my best friend too, Kerry-Anne. I haven't had a best friend in a long time. Not since Bree. My eyes well up at the thought of her, but it isn't guilt I feel as I remember Bree's soft face and always present smile…it is love. And I have the same love for Kerry-Anne. Some friends come and go, but the best never really leave the heart. I know I'll take a piece of both of them with me, regardless of where I end up.

  ***

  I stand before the closed door oddly relaxed. Sloan is beside me, holding tightly to my hand. Though I wasn't sure how much influence I truly commanded, I insisted I would not leave without Sloan, and though obviously irritated with the idea, Rush finally agreed. He's getting two for the price of one - that can't be bad, right?

  Niles stands on my left with his older and wrinkled hand resting comfortably on my shoulder, as if it had been there forever as an extension of myself. I reach up and grip it, feeling the roughness of his skin beneath mine. I daren’t look at him; my tear ducts can't handle it.

  Pushing carefully on the door, Niles leans forward until the heavy wood swings inward; practically blinding me with bright white light. It burns from beyond like a flame, temporarily blurring my vision. How anyone could possibly see in it, I have no clue. But soon a tall figure comes out of the light, stopping just inside the glowing room. Rush. His eyes pierce mine as he smiles warmly, extending a hand for me to take.

  In a panic I half-hug Niles, afraid to let go of Sloan for just one moment. I'm almost sure that something sinister will reach out from the blinding room and drag me away. The horror-movie lover in me screams, "Don't go into the light! Stay away from the light!"

  But I will. I know I will. I'm going to walk through this doorway and leave the Station behind me because I have wanted to know more the instant I arrived. And, as Rush has ensured; I'd return after our journey the same Piper I was today, though perhaps a bit more knowledgeable and Seer-like. I still don't quite understand what that means, but the Mentors, aside from Niles of course, were excited for me. I'm getting to do something all of them had dreamed about for decades. I was leaving…to see what lies beyond.

  "Piper," Niles says as he hugs me close, "I want you to follow your dreams - follow your heart. But please, don't forget about us. Return if you can. Okay?" I nod against his shoulder, the worn argyle sweater vest softly scratching the underside of my chin.

  "I'll be back. I promised, remember?" We release and I step forward, reaching my left hand out to Rush's extended one. He waits patiently, knowingly.

  This is tough for me. It's so hard to leave them.

  You will return. You said so, yourself.

  As I move further across the threshold, my right hand is met with resistance and I glance over my shoulder to see Sloan standing firmly in the same spot. He hasn't moved. Not one inch.

  "Sloan?" As soon as his name leaves my lips, a single tear trickles down his cheek.

  "I-I can't, Piper," he says quietly.

  I'm blocked from his mind. As I stand in the light, I see only with my eyes. His fingers begin to loosen around my own, but I clamp down on him harder still.

  "No! Please, please come with me!"

  "I can't. I'll wait for you here," he says as Rush moves us backwards deeper into the room, further away from the door. As his arm slips around my waist, Sloan's fingers slide off mine.

  He's gone! No!

  He cannot come with us, Piper Willow. Only a true Seer can move into the beyond. If he passes through this doorway, he can never return to the Station with you. I told him this. And yes, I blocked it from you. I'm sorry. He cannot come.

  "Wait!" I scream as Niles puts an arm around Sloan's sagging shoulders, and watch in horror as they step away from the door that is now slowly closing. Just before it shuts me away from them, Sloan lifts a hand and presses it on top of his heart. It is the last thing I see before the brilliance swallows me whole.

  I'm pulled apart, cell by cell and thrown together again, all with Rush's arm firmly around my waist, holding me to him as if we are twirling around a dance floor. I feel everything inside me as it expands and then retracts, separating and then reattaching to my being. Pain does not begin to describe the feeling.

  There is nothing
below, nothing above…just bright, empty space and my cells spinning wildly around Rush's as the light heaves us onward. Where it takes me, I don't know. I don't remember.

  It's just the two of us and the light…jettisoning us into the beyond.

  DYING to RETURN

  CHAPTER 1

  I must be dying…am I dying?

  Piper Willow, you have already died.

  Stop. Please stop with the Piper Willow stuff. Just call me Piper. Where are we, why can't I see?

  Open your eyes…Piper.

  I do as I'm told, feeling my eyelashes lift off my cheeks as I hesitantly squint at my surroundings. There is nothing to see.

  Where are we? Why is it so dark?

  Something soft and warm slowly wraps around my hands and at the same time, I feel a tug forward…into the complete darkness that envelops me. I flex my fingers…opening and closing them against the soft, yet stable presence that has enclosed around them. I realize it is Rush's hand that I'm feeling.

  Is that you?

  Of course, who else would be here with you at this moment?

  When I was little, I used to swim a lot in my grandmother's pool. She would sit on her plastic lawn chair with the tattered seat straps, underneath the over-sized brim of her cracked straw hat and sip from a large glass of her favorite-boxed wine, watching me with a smile. I loved her pool. There was nothing special about it, but it was large, round, and perfect for floating in. That sensation of being weightless but still feeling your limbs was exactly what I felt like now. But I am dry, and not floating in water.

  Will you tell me where we are?

  Come with me…you'll see soon.

  After another tug, I drift effortlessly behind Rush and eventually the blackness begins to turn grey. As the grey becomes spotted with different colors I clamp down onto Rush's relaxed grip.

  Do not be afraid.

  I don't know what's happening.

  We are arriving. Keep your eyes open, Piper. This is my favorite part.

  A mere second later a burst of light fractures around us, splintering the darkness with bright pinpricks of reds, oranges and yellows. As I continue to drift along with Rush, purple and blue streaks flash by me like lightning. I jump a little, afraid of the light display that goes off around us like a firework show.

  I sense, rather than feel, something soft beneath my feet. Wiggling my toes, my legs feel heavy and I'm aware I am standing on uneven ground. As the shape of Rush's body forms in the light beside me, I blink back the dazzling starbursts from my vision to focus on him.

  We are here.

  Where is 'here'?

  Rush lets go of my hand, and I just barely resist the urge to snatch it back. I don't want to break my connection with him and dissipate into molecules again. The memory of the blackness and the way I separated from my own being makes the hairs stand straight up along my arms. I rub at them, eager to hide my body's reaction from Rush. A gentle breeze lifts my hair off my shoulders, shifting my bangs along my forehead in a slow dance.

  He smiles down at me and steps aside. He then slowly moves his arm out in front of him with his palm facing up. No longer caring how I look, my mouth falls open in shock as I take in the view before us. We stand at the edge of a sloped hill; our bare feet nestled into the finest grass I have ever seen. Below us runs the jagged edge of seaside cliffs that drop down several hundred feet. Narrow waterfalls pour over the ledges from various heights and I blink at the rush of white water that pools into the bluest ocean ever. It's so clear that I can see forever into the depths below. Under the water line, the rocky enclaves teem with sea-life, yet I can't name any of the creatures. As I stare in awe back up the rock faces and along the slopes we stand upon, I turn to look behind me and find mountains as tall as city skyscrapers in the distance.

  It seems to be mid-day, as what appears to be not one, but two suns brilliantly light up the elevated island-shaped land mass I over-look. The sky is an ultramarine color…a dark blue with hints of purple. And while I breathe deeply, my lungs fill with oxygen so pure I get light-headed and dizzy.

  Rush gestures out before us with a contented sigh, and speaks aloud for the first time, "Piper. This is my home."

  "Your…home?"

  "Yes."

  "How did we get here?" I run a hand up my arm again, to rub away the unease that lingers on my skin.

  "Well, that's a simple yet complicated answer. Walk with me?" He extends his hand and I take it hesitantly. We both feel the energy spread between us as our skin meets, but I shrug it off and allow him to pull me away from the cliff edge into the grassy hills.

  As I glance behind us to take in the view of the impossible sky again, there's no sign of our arrival, besides our footprints. "There's no door," I say quietly.

  "Door?" He laughs and squeezes my hand slightly. "No, there's no door on this side, just the Bridge."

  "Bridge?"

  "That's what we call it…a connection between worlds, like a bridge. If you look carefully in the first few seconds of passing through, you'll see a shift in the air, a ripple of sorts."

  "Interesting."

  There's an extra spring in my step as Rush pulls me uphill, my feet ankle deep in the bright-green grass. I'm not winded as we approach the top of the round mound, though the air still feels different in my lungs.

  He stops just below the crest and I wait patiently while he looks down at me nervously. "Piper, before I begin to answer your questions and take you any further, I have to explain something. It's more of a warning."

  "Now you give me a warning?"

  His laugh rolls down the slope, and I glance at the grass as the echo reaches the edge of the cliff and drops down to the water below. "It's nothing horrible. It's just something that will make your brief stay here more…tolerable."

  How is that not horrible?

  This is what I need you to control.

  "What?" I forget for a moment that Rush can enter my mind so easily.

  "The ability for me to hear your thoughts is not unique for my people. We have learned to control our minds, put up a wall of sorts, to keep the chatter down. Otherwise, can you imagine how unbearable it would be in a group with everyone's thoughts running through your head all the time?"

  "How do I do that, put up a wall?" I haven't known Rush for long yet I've become used to his intrusion on my private thoughts. But a whole community being privy to my inner workings is not okay.

  "If you concentrate hard enough, you can make your mind cloudy for the outside."

  "Rush, I can't just switch it on and off! You make it sound like I've had this ability my whole life!" I gape at him, like he's asking me to jump off one of the bluffs behind us and attempt to fly.

  He releases my hand and places each palm on the side of my head, warming my temples. The gesture feels so intimate that I want to pull away. "Be still and listen," he whispers.

  Imagine your mind flowing like a never-ending river. There are streams that branch out from this river where the shore gaps open. Now, picture a dam filling up the space where each of those streams leak out. You can feel your river fill up, becoming stronger as you block the streams. Do you feel it?

  Rivers in my brain? No, I don't feel a river in my head.

  It flows in your mind - in all minds. Picture it however you want. Right now, the connection we have is one of those streams. All you have to do is put up a wall, a dam, and our connection is temporarily lost.

  Like a door. You want me to shut you out, like I'm closing a door?

  That's another way to look at it, yes. Okay…close your door now. Shut it tightly. Can you feel me on the other side, trying to get in? Pressure, there's pressure building there, but it's only to let you know I'm here, trying to connect with your thoughts. You can choose to allow that or you can block me. Are you listening? Piper?

  I stare blankly back at him but as he presses to see if I'm paying attention or not, my giggle gives me away.

  "You did it. You blocked me from your mi
nd, didn't you?" Rush asks. He raises an eyebrow at me.

  "I think so. I mean, I could still hear you but you couldn't hear me."

  "Good. And you could still hear me because I chose to leave my door open. Enjoy that moment, we won't be having many more of them today," he laughs.

  "Why not? Now that I know how to keep you out, not only can I lock the door, but I might just put up bars around this sucker," I laugh, pointing to my head.

  Rush nods and extends his hand again. "Perhaps one day. But today, I need you to stay open to me. You will have a lot of questions and it will be beneficial for both of us to leave our connection to each other open. Okay?"

  With my lower lip stuck out in a fake pout, I pretend to be upset. "Fine."

  "Come. I have much to show you."

  Again I allow him to tug me up the hill and when we reach the top just a few seconds later, I'm not sure if I should cry out in shock or pinch myself awake. Rush tightens his hand around mine and stands so quiet his breathing is no longer audible.

  "I've never seen anything like this in my life," I gasp.

  "Of course you haven't. Piper, welcome to Lurriah, the Capital City of the planet Dhara."

  CHAPTER 2

  The thought crosses my mind momentarily that this is all a dream. All of it. Dying, waking up at the Station, Sloan, this place. But when Rush squeezes my hand gently and pulls me down the other side of the small grassy mound, the warmth from the sunshine and the energy coursing around me stops me in my tracks. I feel. Digging the soles of my feet into the damp grass, my toes come back dirt-streaked. There's no mistaking the coolness of the earth below. Slowly, I do pinch myself and it actually hurts.

  "What's going on?"

  Rush stands beside me, watching with curiosity as I drag my nails down the inside of my arm, giggling at the red streaks they leave behind. "Is something wrong?" he asks.