Dream Seeker

Dream Seeker- Chapter Three

Gael raised her gaze over a book she was reading and saw Jonathan standing in front of her with a playful smile on his face. She tapped the couch and he sat next to her. She laid her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

"I love you." Gael said.

"I love you, too." He whispered into her ear.

"Why do you have to leave?"

"You're stronger than you think, Gael."

"I'm afraid of the past."

"Don't say that."

She touched a freckle on the side of his lips, frowning." I don't want to be weak. You taught me how to block the memories, but sometimes I find myself in the desert, again."

He considered for a moment, before looking towards the window. "These children need someone like me to help them. I made a pledge, and I can't turn back. Your dreams are not real. Nothing in them can hurt you." Leaning forward, he planted a kiss on her lips and she smiled. He clutched her hand, squeezing it before standing up. He walked to the window. Only his silhouette was visible in between the orange light filling the room. The longer Gael looked at him the more obscure his figure became, eventually blending in with the rest of the darkness.

The memory screen was sitting on her lap. She removed the memory chip three months after Jonathan went missing. Gael sighed, tucking the memory screen back under her pillow. She looked across at a lodger sitting in a meditative position on the floor.

"You know," the girl said. "This whole business of dream seeking changed."

"What makes you say that?" Gael asked.

The dream seeker opened her large brown eyes." Astral projection used to be about connecting with the core of the universe. In reality, we're all one, pieces to a bigger puzzle. The puzzle of life, of time, of space, of all consciousness, but now seeking lost it's meaning."

"Are you one of those people who thinks there is a purpose to everything?" Gael asked.

The girl smiled. "Reality is subjective to perception."

"Life is what you make it and all that crap." Gael said losing interest in the conversation again.

"No, more like life is what you shape it." There was a glint of humor in her eyes." My name is Marie."

"Hi, I'm Gael."

"What brought you here?" Marie said, moving to the bed.

"My boyfriend crossed a Temporal Rift."

"Oh, wow, I think I heard about him in the news. Was he the NSA dream seeker looking for the missing kids?"

"Yep, that's him." Gael forced a smile. She dropped her gaze, staring blankly at her shoes.

"I'm sorry, being around so many thrill seekers must be hard, that's what I call the people here."

Gael smiled. "Are you looking for someone, too?"

"Yeah, but he died a long time ago."

"Died?"

"I'm using the rift to travel back in time and see my father. He died when I was three years old." Marie's eyes got teary.

"Sorry." Gael murmured.Marie bowed her head, her dark sleek locks concealing her face. Gael looked around the room to see if anyone else was there.

She leaned forward and placed her hand on Marie's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Marie rolled around on her bed laughing and holding her stomach." I'm fine." She said, snorting. "Wow, you're gullible."

"What?" Gael grabbed her pillow and threw it at her." Are you serious? I thought you were really crying." For some reason, she found the prank funny and started laughing, too.

"No way. I don't even remember my dad." She raised her sleeve and exposed the tattoo of a man's face on her arm." That's him. I got it done a few weeks before I came here as a tribute, you know?"

"Yeah." Gael stared at the tattoo of Marie's father. His face looked conflicted." How did your father die?"

"He was a dream seeker back in the day. One of the first, he died in a session. His head sort of exploded." She said, flatly.

Gael eyed her with disbelief." Oh my God, really?"

"No, you big dork. This is too easy."

Gael rolled her eyes." So he really wasn't a dream seeker."

"No, that part was true, but he didn't die while dream seeking. Well, not directly, anyway. He committed suicide."

Gael didn't know how to react. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. It is what it is. If he hadn't died, I wouldn't be here talking to you, right now."

-------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, Gael walked into Doctor Murray's lab. She sat on the couch and closed her eyes.

"Miss Wilson," She heard the doctor voice say." I should really appreciate it if you acknowledge the other guests in the room."

She snapped her eyes open and stood up. At the far left, David Labraque was standing with his arms crossed and next to him stood Marie with a wide grin on her face. Gael could not believe her eyes or even begin to understand the reason why they were all in the same room together.

"What...um...why...I don't under-"

"Do you remember me telling you earlier I would find others to join you?"

She stared at him. "Yes but-"

"You must have met before?" the doctor turned to the others and they nodded their heads.

"Each of you share the innate ability to leave your body during sleep and travel through the rift in time. This is how you can see certain events in the future before they happen."

"So let me guess, you want us to hold a clandestine session nowhere near an NSA lab? Listen Doctor, I respect you and all, but I don't think I'm interested in your experiment," Gael said.

She made a move towards the door but stopped when she heard the doctor chuckling.

"What?"

"I was convinced you would do anything to find your boyfriend, even go as far as participating in this session. I've been proven wrong. I find that amusing."

She looked at the others. The doctor approached her slowly, taking her hand.

"Miss Wilson, for this to work, I need you to trust me."

She looked at his face. "How can I trust a man whose eyes I have never even seen?"

The corner of his mouth curled up in a smile and he let go of her hand. "You have two choices, you join us and you increase the chances of bringing your boyfriend back, you leave and I can guarantee that you will never see him again."

She half-turned to look at the others. "I guess, I have no other choice."