The DreamWalker Series

Eclipsing Depths - 2

Ellette sat shivering on the couch. It was all she'd done for the last few hours. She stared, almost in a trance, at the TV, flipping from newscast to newscast with stiff, still chilled fingers. Rand was pacing in the kitchen on the phone, talking his way out of work. He'd never left her side through the night.

Their tiny apartment was cold even during the day. He'd worried over her blue lipped, shivering state until she'd given in. Under any normal circumstances she would have resisted. The concern, the strain in his voice, coaxed her more than the words themselves.  

At his insistence, she finally slipped into his bed, underneath the electric blanket. There, in that warm cocoon, he rubbed warmth into her fingers and forearms. He stopped, though, hands stilled on her upper arms. There was a pause, a hesitation, and he pulled away, and settled back down on his back. She curled against him, resting her forehead, and a now warmed hand on his arm. Her fingers traced a scar before she caught herself, and let out a long sigh. Her thoughts were sluggish, the warmth making her groggy after the intensity of the chill. Beyond exhaustion, she'd fallen asleep in moments.

She adored Rand. He'd been a godsend, and a best friend when she'd been in dire need. The thought of being so close to him, though... She stopped the train of thought, refusing to let herself entertain the notion. He was simply being a friend, a concerned friend, and they would leave it at that.

Now, warmed enough to keep him from hovering, she wiped absently at her running nose and flipped channels again.

There it was. She'd half expected it, but it still made her heart clench to actually see it, hear it — the confirmation.

"A body was found on the east river early this morning. A minor, age twelve, was discovered by a pair of joggers..."

That was it. A shot of the frost covered ground, the rushing depths of that disturbingly familiar riverbank... And nothing more. No other information would be released. There would be an investigation, but all signs pointed to suicide.

She shook her head, angry suddenly as the tears welled in her eyes. Why had it happened? It had been hopeless, there was no way she could have saved him. A cruel joke, a tease, a torment. In that cold, in that current, she'd died trying to save him. What was the point in that?

What kind of lesson could she learn by watching a boy die, knowing that she'd awaken alive? She choked back a sob and dropped the remote, curling in on herself.

She'd been like him once. Now she rescued others like him. It was her salvation. It made her whole — until moments like this. This threatened to undo her entirely. She felt herself sinking, wallowing.  She'd been alone once, a desperate and haunted teen. The torment of her youth, she'd managed to push down, to ignore, to kill... yet this... this boy. This experience, this dreamwalk brought it all rushing back.

There was a hand on her shoulder, warm, firm. "Ellette." His voice was soft, concerned. She came back to herself, and stared up at him from her balled up position on the couch.

"Rand," she choked. "What was the point?" She blinked, straightening. "This wasn't a nightmare. The newscast confirmed it just moments ago... They found a body," she explained, her voice flat, struggling against the numbing feel of the depression climbing within her.

Rand settled down next to her, and picked up the remote, flicking off the noisy TV.  With a flick, he tossed it into the couch cushions and took her hand. She couldn't help but stare down at the stark contrast of the alabaster perfection of her own hand, cradled in his own dark, disfigured fingers.  She took a deep breath. Those hands, the damage done to them, reminded her in no uncertain way, that though she knew of pain, he knew of it in his own way.