The rest of the day went by like a blur.
Fitzsimmons finished their tests, accompanied by their usual astonished scientific rambling.
Soon enough, I was settling in the barracks with Peter.
I put my bag of things on an empty bunk, and he sat down on the one next to me with a sigh.
"So, we never got to catch up," he said. I glanced over my shoulder at him.
"There's not much to say," I replied. "I've just been...going on with my life I guess. Mostly i've just tried to forget. But it isn't easy when it seems like the rest of the world is on fire."
He nodded. "Well, you're not wrong. At this point I'm just hoping no more aliens attack New York, or whatever," he said laughing a little.
I smiled. "Have you ever wondered about it though? About the aliens and the galaxy, what's all out there, and where we came from?".
He stood up and walked over beside me. "I mean yeah, of course, but the whole thing is just mind boggling, really. I mean, any second you could be taken and be brainwashed. Aliens could come from the sky and the Avengers could drop another city to the ground.". He sat down at the end of my bunk. "I don't really think anyone has all of the answers. We just have to protect our own, and do what we can, when we can."
He's right. None of us really know. I wish I did.
I sat down beside him, staring at our feet. I thought back to what Fitz showed us, about my brain activity when I was close to an Inhuman. I thought about my dream, with the Kree. How I wasn't one of them, but I had a part to play. Me, with my regular life, had some part to play in this big shitshow of a game we're stuck in.
"What do you think is in there?," I finally said. "In the hydra base?"
Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Weapons, intelligence maybe. And then there's that stuff about people being transported."
You didn't help us. He called for you, and you didn't come. The voice of the little girl from my dream rung through my head.
I choked a little, gritting my teeth and closing my eyes. Be quiet, I thought.
"No," I said, looking up at Peter. "I think it's something much worse."
~•~
Most of that night is spent sitting up on my bed, my knees hugging my chest, staring off into the darkness of the room.
I was afraid to sleep.
I was afraid I'd see that little girl again. I was afraid I would see someone I care about getting hurt again. I was afraid.
I fidgeted. I'm so confused. What does it mean. What does anything mean? What can I really do? What am I supposed to do? What can Peter do? Why do I dream? Why does Skye have a new name? Why does Fitz act like someone is holding him at gunpoint? What happened to them?
Why am I here?
I was broken from my thoughts by a sound. I looked up. I saw Peter in his bed across from me, fast asleep under a navy blanket. His head moved. "No," he mumbled.
I slid off my bed and stood on the floor. "Peter?", I whispered.
He didn't respond. His body twitched again. He mumbled something again that I couldn't understand.
"Peter," I whispered again, walking over to him.
He still didn't wake up. I saw his hands tighten holding his pillow, his veins bulging from his arms. I saw his sweat pooled on his forehead, his face set in a sleepful grimace. "Don't," he said.
He's having a nightmare. I can't blame him.
"Peter?," I whispered, and I reached my arm out, lightly touching his shoulder to attempt to wake him up.
Only it didn't.
As soon as I touched him, I felt my breath leave my body. Something sucked it right out of me, and suddenly I couldn't see anything but a bright, white light.
I blinked. I was back in the place from my dream. The bright light faded into an overhead ceiling, illuminating a long, white hallway with tile floors. In the middle of it, a few feet away from me, stood the little girl, still holding the teddy bear.
She looked to be about six, she had short, tangled black hair that brushed over her face and shoulders. She wore a small, faded blue dress, with no shoes. Her eyes were jet black, and her cheeks were sunken in. She stared at me, through me, with a blank, emotionless stare.
They died for a reason, she said. But she wasn't looking at me.
I turned around and saw Peter standing there, staring straight at the little girl.
He can't see me. I turned back to the little girl, she hadn't moved. Oh my god, I'm in a dream. His dream.
"No they didn't," Peter said, his voice echoing off the walls. "There wasn't a reason. It was my fault. I made a mistake and they died for it."
But you wouldn't have learned, the girl said, her head tilting to the left. And you wouldn't be here.
"Learned what?," Peter said louder. "That I can disintegrate things? That I can burn holes in people? I never wanted this, any of it!".
But it's here, she said. It's coming for you, It's coming for us, and you have to use it.
Suddenly, black mist began to descend from the ceiling. It darkened and thickened, enveloping the three of us. I felt it wrap around me, choking me, pressing against my body and go straight around my head. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe.
I turned around to Peter. He still stood there with his eyes closed, fists clenched, shaking his head. The darkness swirled around his hands, like he was beckoning it. It twirled around him like a tornado.
I opened my mouth to call out to him, but I still couldn't breathe. I started to hear voices. I heard Peter's thoughts.
No, I can't, I won't. Stop it. I don't want to. Leave me alone.
I heard the girls voice. You said you'd help us Alex! Where are you!
Everything got louder and louder. I gasped for air that I couldn't seem to get. I felt myself fall to my knees, covering my ears with my hands.
Make it stop. Make it stop. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't -
~•~
I woke up on the floor. I gasped for air, breathing in with my face pressed to the cold, dusty floor. I heard muffled sounds.
"Alex, Alex! Wake up! You have to wake up!"
The room finally came into focus. I saw Peter, crouched over me, his face crossed with concern and worry. Sweat soaked his shirt and the ends of his hair.
I sat up, still gasping and clutching my chest, unable to talk.
He grabbed my shoulders. "It's okay, just breathe, you're safe, you're okay."
I looked up at him, at those hazel eyes, my heartbeat slowed. I started breathing normally.
"What," I said between breaths. "The. Hell."
"I should be asking you that," he said. "I woke up and you were passed out on the ground."
"How long?," I asked.
"A few seconds," he said.
I looked up at him again. "You don't remember?"
His eyebrows furrows. "Remember, what?"
I shook my head. I was in his dream. I was there. I saw it. It was the same girl.
"Something is waiting for us at that Hydra base," I said.
"Something bad."