Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Waking Dream

Chapter 18: Waking Dream

The first thing I saw was the ground, eleven stories down.

The second was my feet, toes protruding off of the wall. Wind buffeted me from all sides, and my sleeping clothes were soaked.

“I don't think he can hear us.” The voice belonged to Drake. “I think he's asleep. The door flew open, and it was like the wind sucked him out here.”

No. It hadn't been a dream. I was sure of that. Refusing to go back to that apartment, I sat down where I was, legs dangling over the side. My arms were threaded through the metal bars behind me, and I was unsure if I had began to cry again.

“It's okay Ramie.” Dez touched my shoulder. “It was just a dream. You're safe now. It was just a dream.”

“No!” I flung her off of me. “I know how to recognize a dream. I can always tell.” I stood again, this time facing them. “That was not a dream. It was real.”

Dez was slowly shaking her head. “I'm sorry.”

So what if she was right? The implications of that were terrifying within them self. I was losing my grip on reality, letting him into my head. For God's sake, I'd sleep walked out onto this ledge. It must have been the storm, or maybe his proximity to me. Whatever it was, he'd managed to make the dream feel as real as the rain against the back of my neck.

There was something else too, something else he'd told me. Remembrance came, and with it urgency. It was happening now, and I was wasting time. Gavyn was in terrible danger. Not pausing to explain myself, I jumped over the guard rail, pushing past them into the apartment. Clothes. I needed clothes, and a rain jacket.

“What are you doing?” Kera demanded. “Where are you going?”

My sword was at my side, and I grabbed a black raincoat from the floor.

“Gavyn's here, in the storm.” I wrenched open the door. “And Lucifer's going to see him.”

“Where?” Dez was zippering up her jacket.

“St. Micheal's. You can come, but don't slow me down.”

From the reports of those who had been there last night St. Micheal's would be fifteen minutes away in a dead out sprint. The old church around which it had been constructed overlooked the river. I didn't wait for the others. They could come if they wanted.

“Follow him!” Fara yelled.

“But what about Kera?” asked Drake.

They were running down the stairs after me.

“Where is she?” asked Dez, as I vaulted over the banister.

“She woke up really early, said she needed to get some air.”