Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

He considered my words with a slow grin and finally gave a nod of acceptance. “Okay, but don’t tell anybody.”

  “Our secret.” I flashed the Girl Scout’s pledge and rolled onto my side before I did or said something stupid. I was dangerously close to finding out if his lips felt as soft as they looked.

  He slung an arm around me again. His other hand rested near my head, and he combed his fingers through my hair. I forced my breaths to steady, slowed the galloping in my chest, and pretended the meant-to-be-soothing gesture wasn’t slowly unhinging me. We were quiet for a long time as I fought to gain control of my body, the sound of our breaths was all that reached my ears. I just started to drift off to sleep when his hand stopped, entangled in my hair.

  “Kris?”

  My mouth dried and the word cracked in my throat. “Yeah?”

  His hand started to move through my hair again, and he didn’t say what he had wanted to say. Instead, he said, “Goodnight.”

  What are you holding back? I wanted to ask, but settled on returning my own shaky, “Goodnight.”

  Just as it seemed the walls between us had been torn down, there remained the presence of unspoken words between us. I wondered if I would ever really hear what he needed to say, and if it would be what I needed to hear?

  CHAPTER 22

  Nathan shook me awake some time later. “They’re coming,” he told me when my eyes popped open.

  For half a second, I forgot where I was and stared up at him dumbly. One look at the grey wall over his shoulder brought it all back. I scurried to my feet and stood beside him in the back of the cell. Through the bars, I saw Lillian approach with the key, and the three muscled men on her heels.

  “I hope you slept well,” she said without an ounce of sincerity. She inserted the key, turned the lock with a loud click, and pointed to the men with her orders, “You and you, hold him back. You, bring the girl.”

  Nathan’s arm wrapped around me protectively, and he pulled me tight against his side. “Whatever you want, Lil, you can get it from me,” he called to Lillian.

  The three Skotadi fanned out inside the cell. Two of them edged toward Nathan while the third held back, flanking us. Waiting.

  “Unfortunately, it’s her I need,” Lillian responded.

  Nathan’s eyes were fixed on the advancing Skotadi as he addressed Lillian. “What do you want with her?”

  “Just some information. I promise I won’t hurt her.” That was the second time Lillian had said that she wouldn’t harm me, but after looking into her cold dark eyes, I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in that promise.

  The two big guys were close now, and Nathan loosened his arm from around me. We both knew he would need both hands free for what was coming.

  I waited for their move, but it was Nathan who struck first. One of them stepped within swinging range, and Nathan caught him with a right hook before he saw it coming. There wasn’t time for Nathan to land another before the second guy lunged for him.

  The third Skotadi decided that was his opening to get me. I saw him coming, and ducked behind Nathan seconds before the Skotadi he was grappling with steamrolled him into the wall. The two of them blocked my pursuer. That didn’t stop the one with the bloody nose from grabbing me instead.

  I reached for Nathan as I was hauled backwards by the waist. His hand clamped down on my arm and held onto me, even as the other two Skotadi slammed him to the wall, and pinned him there. His grip was so tight I was certain my shoulder would dislocate before he ever let go.

  With the appearance of Lillian at my side, I knew it was over.

  She placed her hand over top of Nathan’s, and pried him loose one finger at a time. He gritted his teeth as he desperately fought to hold on, but it was futile.

  My eyes darted to his as my arm slipped out of his grasp, and I was yanked away from him. Lillian stood in the middle, looking pleased with herself, and shot Nathan a look I couldn’t see before she turned to follow me as I was dragged out of the cell.

  “Whatever they want, Kris, do it!” Nathan shouted to me as I was carried away. “Tell them what they want to know!”

  “Oh, she will,” Lillian told him as she turned the key, locking Nathan in the cell with the other two Skotadi.

  Even as I was lugged down the dark tunnel toward the unknown—which I assumed included some sort of painful torture—my concern was not for myself, but for Nathan and whether or not I would ever see him again. I assumed Lillian had locked the two Skotadi in there with him for a reason. Was it to hurt him? To kill him?

  Chances were good that one or both of us wouldn’t make it out of here alive. I didn’t know what Nathan knew of the Skotadi’s history and motives, but I knew they were up to something bad, and I had a feeling I was about to find out what that was.

  We crashed through a door and into a small, cold, and brutally bright room. I was set down on the lone chair in the center. Knowing it was a pointless attempt, I jumped up and didn’t make it two steps before I was caught and set back down.

  This time, the big brute held me down while Lillian strapped me to the chair with rope. She pulled it tighter than necessary and the harsh material bit into my skin, but I refused to show how much it hurt.

  “That’ll teach you to run,” the ugly Skotadi mocked, sticking his nose too close to mine.

  “How’s your face?” I returned. If they were going to kill me, I wanted to go out in style. With attitude.

  He slinked away with a yellow teeth stained jeer and Lillian stepped in his place, leaning down to put her face in mine. Seeing her up that close, I was able to place her exotic features as that of South American decent, maybe Brazilian.

  “You care about Nathan, honey?” she asked with fake sweetness. I kept my mouth clamped shut and she laughed wickedly. “Of course you do,” she continued. “If you don’t want us to hurt him, you’re going to have to tell me what I want.”

  I nearly stopped breathing. I had expected threats against myself and had been prepared to defy the bitch with every ounce of strength I had. I wouldn’t have helped her even if I knew what she wanted. But if she was going to hurt Nathan...well, that changed things. A lot.

  “You’re going to tell me what I want?” she asked.

  I nodded. For Nathan, I would, though I was afraid it wouldn’t matter. They would kill both of us once they realized I didn’t know anything.

  Lillian gripped my chin, digging her nails into my cheek, and I gritted my teeth to block out the pain. “Where’s the boy?” she asked.

  I stared blankly at her, desperately searching for a clue as to what she was talking about. Finally, at a loss, I gave up. “What boy?”

  From the annoyance on her face, I gathered she wasn’t buying my ignorance, legitimate as it was. “You can’t protect him forever. We will find him, with your help,” she said with barely controlled rage shaking under the surface. “If I have to kill Nathan to get you to talk, I will.”

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about. If I did—”

  She backhanded me across the face. My teeth came down on my tongue from the impact. A metallic taste flooded my mouth as I blinked back the instant surge of tears.

  Lillian bent at the waist to peer evenly into my eyes. She must have seen what she was looking for, because she wore a smug smile. “You’ve started developing, which means you’ve formed the link. You know where to find him.”

  I held back another argument, expecting it would only bring on another beating. Why didn’t she believe I didn’t have the information she thought I did? I didn’t know of a boy. Except...

  Alec? He had tried to warn me. Were they looking for him?

  Lillian was watching me closely. “Well?” she probed.

  “If you’re talking about Alec, I don’t know where he is.”

  Lillian eyed me for a few agonizing seconds before turning her head with a disgusted grunt. She nodded her head at the big guy by the door, and a twisted smile spread across his face.

  “It will
be my pleasure,” he said as he cracked his knuckles. When he turned for the door, I realized Lillian had given him the go ahead to harm Nathan.

  I jumped in my seat, but the ropes didn’t give. “No, please,” I pleaded. “I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know who you’re talking about, I swear. Leave Nathan alone.”

  “Yes you do,” Lillian hissed, turning to me with the reflexes of a cat. “Think.”

  I moved my eyes from Lillian to the guy in the doorway. He had paused with his head turned over his shoulder, waiting for my response. I looked back and forth between the two of them, frantically seeking the answer they wanted.

  Not Alec. Not Nathan. My human friends wouldn’t matter to them. Who else was there?

  Surely they couldn’t mean...

  “Yes?” Lillian tilted her head when she saw the thought register on my face.

  “The boy in my dreams?” I whispered and braced for another blow for giving the wrong answer.

  Instead, Lillian’s face lit with intrigue. The man in the doorway turned, forgetting his desire to pummel Nathan.

  “That’s how you communicate with him?” Lillian asked, her voice feigning friendliness. Seeing as how she was an evil bitch who had likely given me a black eye, it wasn’t convincing.

  But from her reaction, I gathered that, whoever he was, the boy in white was who they wanted. Up until then, a big part of me had thought that he wasn’t real, that he was only a dream, or a result of my waning sanity. Now I knew he was real. That didn’t mean I knew who he was—or where to find him.

  “Where is he?” Lillian asked, her body rigid as she harnessed what was likely the urge to beat the answer out of me.

  “I don’t know his location,” I responded carefully.

  She didn’t like that answer. “When did you last...see him?”

  I had not dreamt during the brief time I slept on Nathan’s lap. The altered view of the car accident had filled my dreams the night before. “Two nights ago,” I said.

  “You were sleeping when we came to get you,” Lillian pointed out.

  “Not very long. I didn’t dream. I didn’t see him.”

  Lillian studied me like she was trying to determine if I was telling the truth. “You say two nights ago?” She stood and paced the room, deep in thought. Finally, she turned back to me. She believed me. “Do you both have to be asleep to access him? Do not lie to me.”

  “I’m not sure, but I’ve been asleep every time I’ve seen him.” Should I tell them that I’ve yet to find a way to communicate with him? Or see his face? Until I knew what they wanted, I decided to keep that information to myself.

  She tapped a red painted fingernail against her chin as she studied me and spoke to herself. “If he’s on the run, he may not sleep for a while, and even then, it may be at irregular times.” Her eyes shifted to the big guy in the doorway, who was alert and ready for his orders.

  “Find Doc,” she told him and, with a curt nod, he left us. Lillian returned her cold gaze to me. “We’ll make sure you’re ready for him the next time he falls asleep. You find out where he is, give me his location, and I’ll consider letting Nathan live.”

  I didn’t know if I should believe her. I certainly didn’t trust her. I also had no other options. I supposed I could pretend to get the information and give them a made up location, though it would only backfire when they returned empty-handed, and killed Nathan anyway for my deception.

  At least I had bought myself some time to think. Maybe something would come to me. Maybe I could learn how to communicate with the boy and we could figure something out together. Assuming I could convince him that I wasn’t just a dream, and then convince him to help me.

  Yeah. Piece of cake.

  At least Lillian was going to help me find him, though I was a little concerned about how she planned to make that happen. I found out a few minutes later, when the big guy returned with another Skotadi man, this one ganglier and older with salt and pepper hair and a white lab coat. He must have been Doc.

  And Doc had a bottle of oval yellow pills, two of which he held out for me.

  Lillian appeared over his shoulder. “We can make this easy or hard,” she threatened.

  I plucked the pills out of his hand. “What are they?”

  “Something to make you sleep, so that when the boy sleeps, you’ll be waiting,” Lillian answered.

  “If I get what you want, you’ll leave Nathan alone?”

  She shrugged noncommittally. “Sure.”

  She was lying. But if I didn’t do what she asked, they would kill him now. If I did what she asked, I could buy us some time. Maybe, if I was lucky, I could see him once more before they killed us both.

  Hoping for nothing short of a miracle, I popped the pills into my mouth.

  CHAPTER 23

  I didn’t see the boy in white. Really, I didn’t see much of anything. I drifted in and out of a drunken state. For how long, I had no idea. Time stopped. My thought process shut down. The few times I started to come around, the room I was in started to take shape and the memory found its way back to me.

  When that happened, I got more pills shoved in my mouth. It was like when I had started development and Nathan had forced medicine on me—except it was nothing like that. I wanted—no, I needed—Nathan. But I had to do this for him, to save him. I had some recollection of that.

  The dark haired girl knocked me around, demanded answers I didn’t have. I was so doped up I doubted I would have been able to communicate with her even if I had the answer she wanted. She scared me even more than the big ugly guy.

  I preferred it when I woke up and no one was there. Then I could slip back into a semi-unconscious state before anyone had a chance to force more pills on me. That was when some of the fog would lift and I would start to remember where I was.

  This time, I was startled awake by the sound of the door clicking open. I groaned as I came to. They were back to drug me again. Or worse.

  How much longer before they grew tired of this game?

  With my chin dropped to my chest, my eyes came into focus as a familiar pair of Sketchers stepped into view. I tried to raise my head to see their owner, but the ropes holding me to the chair gave way and I fell forward, nearly toppling off it. A strong pair of arms saved me from an inevitable face plant and guided me up in my seat. My head rolled back and I shifted my gaze to focus on the jade green eyes in front of me.

  “What did they do to you?” Alec murmured in my ear as he pulled me to a stand. He held onto me as I swayed and tried to balance on my own two feet. “Can you walk? Preferably run?”

  I nodded and nearly hurled from the motion. The room was spinning. Not good.

  Alec frowned and slipped his arm around my waist to steady me. “Hold onto me. I’ll help you, but we need to hurry.”

  His grip tightened around me, and my arm draped limply around his neck as he guided me into the hall. My steps were clumsy and forced faster than I was capable of on my own. It still wasn’t as fast as Alec wanted to go, I realized, and tried harder, concentrating exclusively on putting one foot in front of the other.

  “You’re doing good, Kris,” Alec whispered. “We’re almost there.”

  I was about to ask where we were going when the cell bars came into view and I saw Nathan—alive, gripping the bars, face pressed against them, eyes searching, and finally resting on me. His expression shifted from relief to elation to alarm as he took in the whole picture: me, beaten up, barely walking, and holding onto none other than Alec for support.

  Alec let go of me and I grabbed the cell bars for support. Nathan was within reach on the other side, but it felt like an insurmountable distance between us. Our eyes locked briefly before Alec demanded his attention.

  “Just so we’re clear,” Alec addressed Nathan coolly, “the only reason I’m breaking you out is because I know she’s going to need you.” I hadn’t realized until then that Alec had the key in his hand, poised over the lock. “I don’t like yo
u, you don’t like me, but we both care about her, and that’s why I’m doing this.”

  Alec slipped the key in the lock and clicked it open. Nathan brushed by Alec with a barely discernible nod and came to my side. He surveyed my face and my wobbly stance with visible concern.

  He glanced at Alec. “What did they do to her?”

  “I don’t know,” Alec answered solemnly. “Whatever they gave her, it’s wearing off fast enough. She’s better than she was.”

  Say what? I glanced at Alec peculiarly. I was awake, at least, and standing, sort of. I supposed I was a little better than unconscious. Had he seen me at my worst, newly intoxicated, to know that this—knees knocking, eyes glazed, clinically dumb—was better? I intended to question him about that, but he had already turned to scope out the tunnel.

  He looked at Nathan. “Stay behind me and help her. Don’t let anybody see either of you.”

  Nathan hooked an arm around me and, together, we followed Alec through the dark corridor. Under any other circumstance, I doubted Nathan would have listened to a word Alec had to say. Stuck as we were now, he must have realized Alec was our best chance at escape. I figured there was probably a good deal of pride swallowing going on beside me.

  “Hi buddy,” I whispered to him.

  He looked down at me, and the corners of his lips slanted into a small smile. I might have misinterpreted it, but I thought he squeezed me tighter, bringing me closer to him. I didn’t recall stumbling, so I allowed myself to think it had been done out of affection rather than necessity.

  Alec led us through one tunnel after another. I was officially lost after about the third turn. Keeping a sense of direction would have been difficult enough sober. My bad hangover made it impossible.

  I leaned into Nathan and pushed my legs as fast as I could. The more I ran and the harder my heart pumped, the more lucid I became. Either my body was pushing the drug out of my system or I was high on adrenaline.

  Alec slowed at an intersection, looked both ways, and then darted to the left, edging up beside a grey door. Nathan and I hovered behind him as he tried the handle. When it didn’t open, he wasted no time in lifting the shirt over his head, wrapping it around his hand and putting his covered fist through the glass. As he reached inside to disengage the lock, he flashed me a quick grin, complete with a playful wink. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn he was enjoying this.