Forsaken Dreamscape (Nevermor #2)

Chapter Three

Forsaken Dreamscape

Chapter Three

1

Witherspoon was pacing – pacing like a lion at the forefront of its cage, anxious and frustrated because, very much like a wildcat in a circus, he was caught.  Wren had told him what had happened – the truth and not a lie – though doubtless he thought differently about the ordeal.  She could tell that he was not pleased, but he had not said much to her through it all, now stuck in his own mind as he considered her tale.

Wren sat meekly in front of his desk, fearing what sort of judgment he might pass down on her until she could no longer bear the silence.

“Is Adele – I mean, is she alright?”

The sound of her voice seemed to startle him.  He met her eyes as if surprised to find her in the room.

“She has a few cuts, but yes, she will be fine.”  He considered her a moment before continuing.  “Wren, are you certain that it happened as you said?  Try to think clearly, now.”

She had told him everything exactly as it had happened – of how Adele had stolen the key and they had gone seeking a shadow that was not attached to anyone; and of how Adele had been mysteriously attacked.  Wren had told him how it had happened and yet he was waiting for her to tell him something different.  She felt discouraged, though not out of guilt for lying, but for the burden of the truth.

“I told you everything,” she confirmed.  The words were thick in her mouth, like old porridge.

Once again, Witherspoon went back to his pacing until finally he’d suffered enough.  He turned to her, eyes full of new vigor – or a last desperate hope.

“Wren, can we talk frankly a moment?” he asked, crossing his arms.  He didn’t wait for her to answer before he began.  “When I first chose you and kept you from being sent away, it was because I saw something in you – a potential for improvement – but as many times as we've spoken, you still refuse to realize the truth.  You seem so lucid, very unlike the others, and yet you refuse to see what I've been trying to show you.  I'm going to try another tactic this time, Wren.  I'm going to tell you the truth very bluntly.”

She looked at him steadily, awaiting his diagnosis.

“Nevermor is not real, Wren,” he said gently.  “The Rifter and those boys are not real!  Nothing that you have described to me actually happened.  It is impossible that shadows are alive and that people can fly.  It defies all logic, and I am quite accomplished as far as logic, let me tell you.”

Wren stared at him blankly.  She heard what he was saying, but she wasn't willing to respond.  She had told her story many times and no one ever believed her.  Of course he would try to translate the impossible into something that he could understand.

“You had an unfortunate life, abandoned as you were, forced to grow up too quickly,” he said.  She thought she heard a bit of sympathy.  “You’re not to be blamed for that.  Your mind was overwhelmed and it created a new world for itself.”

His voice sounded so convincing, there was no wonder he believed it himself.

“The Rifter and his actions toward you are a reflection of your father.  He was your savior but he betrayed you.  The Rifter’s ability to fly and his strength to battle the nightmares indicate what you wish you could do for yourself, and that is why you were drawn to him.

“The boys of the Wolf Pack represent your fears about your brothers and the possibilities of what they might have become if they’d lived an ungoverned life.