✅🎊✂️ Hypnosis Won't Take Me There!! [alternative cut]

Chapter 471: In Transit

Belle stared listlessly out of the window at a panorama of clouds. They were moving fast, she knew. Hundreds of miles per hour, but the scenery never seemed to change. There was nothing to see up here and nothing much to do. It was always the same, but usually she could speculate at what unexpected gifts the house's co-owners might have left for them. Or if the last visitors had been paying tourists, Dean would be worrying about the possibility of damage, or any extra cleaning that the minimum-wage maintenance staff might have missed. Either way, they'd be talking about what to expect the whole way, or playing games. Lately, it had almost been the height of the vacation for Belle. Because for a couple of hours, probably the only time in the year, Dean had nobody else to talk to and absolutely nothing else to do except talk to her. She had his full attention for once.

Today, she had no idea what to expect. Would Adelaide be in her room, or the guest room? Or even sharing the master suite with Dean? Belle wasn't sure which answer would upset her more. She didn't like to imagine that Dean might see Adi as a replacement for her. But for all the things she could be thinking about, there was nobody she could discuss them with. Britney Wakefield was sitting beside her, staring at a dictionary and phrase book almost constantly, and on the far side Toni Walker was relaxing with her eyes closed. They were both worried, Belle knew they had to be. One of their best friends might actually get hurt, and they had to save her. They should be more upset than Belle, whose biggest concern was feeling betrayed by her brother. One, apparently, coped by learning as much as she could even if the information was unlikely to be relevant; and the other seemed happy to sleep when there was nothing she could actually do.

So Belle felt alone, and stared out at a carpet of thick fluffy clouds however many hundred yards below. She speculated, wondering what she would be able to see if the clouds parted. She had no idea, really. It could be the hillsides of northern Greece, or some other European landscape, but she had no idea what any of those would look like. It could be the sea, or the city of Heraklion already visible ahead. It could be lush fields or gloomy forests, empty wilderness or a grid of tight streets and hundreds of buildings. But sooner or later, she knew, they would be on Crere, and then in Latvia, and finally get to Kolechia.

She wondered if Adi had been subjected to a view of nothing more than clouds when she came out here, or if she'd been able to watch the different landscapes without knowing where they were. She wondered if the two little girls would wind up travelling back together; anything was possible now. But right now, she was sure, Adelaide would have a much more beautiful vista in front of her; out of the front windows of the cottage, over the tops of the woodlands and the mountains or plains beyond.

Belle found herself almost jealous of that view. But however it went down, she would be there soon not.

* * *

Adi looked out of the window at the buildings whipping past, too fast to clearly make out the shop signs or any detail that would turn an indistinct blur of colours into the marketplace crowds. A few seconds passed, and then the buildings were gone. There were open plains instead, wide fields of grain crossed by poorly maintained roads. There was another town in sight on the horizon, probably a market town like the one the train had zipped through at high speed.

"Want a colouring book?" Dean offered with a smile. "I think I've got some in my bag."

Adi giggled despite herself. She knew he wasn't serious. She wished she could have her phone, and maybe catch up with other people in her life. But she could understand why Dean didn't want her to be online. It made perfect sense, just like all the restrictions he'd put in place on her laptop before allowing her to use it again. He saw it as his duty to keep herself. A part of his job as a babysitter, perhaps. Or there could be something more there, although she found it hard to believe after the way she'd been treating him for the last couple of months. She couldn't admit that she'd been a nightmare child, but somewhere inside she knew it was true, and she couldn't believe that he'd want to be around her any more than he needed to after this.

If she even wanted him around, which she didn't. She had no need for a babysitter as an adult, and she couldn't still be a child if she went to Moistville University. He'd promised college if she went along with his plan, that was one reason she'd accepted it, and she had to believe him. So... she would be an adult before long, even if it seemed like an unreachable goal right now, and she wouldn't need his help anymore. End of story.

"I'm not a baby," she grumbled.

"Then maybe this will suit your tastes a little better." He opened his bag, and took out a book. Not the kind of thing she'd normally read, but she at least knew the author's name on the cover. He'd written something pretty popular a few years back if she remembered correctly, about an ancient secret society stealing the Elgin Marbles in an attempt to decipher a secret code leading to ancient treasures. When she first read about it, the idea had seemed puerile. But it was better than sitting here watching miles of nothingness go by until they reached Grodno.

The kind gesture made her smile just a little. It was a reminder that Dean wanted her to be happy with the situation even if he couldn't make everything perfect for her. It was a way to know that even if they had to meet Chastaine today, the stalker with the weird nursery, it was a necessary evil. They needed to be away from the cottage this week, just in case Dean's suspicions had been right. And they were lucky that the stalker had been able to give her an alternative place to stay.

This chapter is dedicated to Scot, who helps me to keep going writing these stories with a generous monthly donation on Patreon. Thank you Scot, and thanks to everyone who wants to see me keep on writing. Whether that's money, votes, feedback, or letting your friends know about these stories, I appreciate all of your efforts.