Existence

Chapter 26

"When push comes to shove, Sar," Alex—no, Lewis— raised his hands, "we'll have to resort to other ways. The Shifters need to be stopped. I told you, Sar. When facing these soldiers, it's kill or be killed."

Sarah glanced around at the boys around the campfire, none of them meeting her eyes. Casey sighed before glancing up with an apologetic shrug at her.

"How are you any better than them when you're like this?" She shook her head.

The look on Lewis's face hardened. He clearly didn't like the comparison.

"What does Aunt Monica think about all this? Or is she as clueless as I was before coming here?"

"Not another word, Sarah."

She frowned up at him. They were suddenly standing face to face, but Sarah felt a lot shorter and... younger. "Why? Aunt Monica is really sad, you know."

Jed suddenly appeared next to her, gently pulling her towards him as he knelt down. Something in her told Sarah she should be surprised to see him, but she wasn't. Where else would Jed be?

"I told you this was a bad idea," Jed said.

Lewis scratched his head, but his reply was lost to Sarah's ears—muffled as if by some invisible wall. Then Azazel came into view, perpetual scowl painted on his face. He gestured behind him and Sarah noticed there was a thin opening in the tree. Oh, they were outside. But where were they going? A huge wave of awe washed over her as she studied the split open tree, which didn't let her see the hedge behind it, but an endless expanse of forest.

She turned to Jed pleadingly, words leaving her lips that her ears didn't register. But she could feel what she wanted. To go through the opening—to Adventia.

No! No, she shouldn't. Why would she want to go back there? Jed seemed to share her inner disagreement, but the next thing she knew, Lewis was leading her through the portal.

Her vision blurred into a haze of greens, browns, and blues. Then the green disappeared as an ice-cold shockwave enveloped her body. Weightless...she felt weightless. Sarah struggled to gain control of her body to no avail.

"—a bad idea!" Jed yelled. The cold left as quickly as it had come, but the warmth was making her so tired. Maybe she could go to sleep now. But wait... wasn't she already sleeping right now?

"This is all— fault!"

Sarah rubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to clear her vision. Jed was yelling at Alex— no, at Lewis, she reminded herself— and Sarah didn't like it. Wait, why was he Lewis again?

"I..." The blue and green blur faded, and she finally saw Lewis's face scrunched up in concern and regret. He opened his mouth, only for an unearthly scream to pierce the air.

"I- AAAAAAAARGH!"

Sarah jolted awake, rolling out of bed and onto the floor. The feel of the hard-packed earth under her palms confused her. Was she... that was a dream, she'd been dreaming. She thought back to seeing Phoebus and the general. Had the rest of it also been a dream?

Another scream came from somewhere in the distance. Sarah turned towards the firelight coming from her right.

"My apologies, Sarah. Given the... situation, these are the best accommodations we could afford on such short notice."

Phoebus stood behind a row of bars, hands clasped behind him. Her head still feeling fuzzy, Sarah wondered why he was in a prison. Then she registered the low wooden table she'd almost rolled into. That hadn't been in her tent. She glanced back at the bed she'd rolled out of, pushed up against one side of the small, rectangular room. Removing the thin blanket still wrapped around her legs, she glanced around and noticed curtains covering one corner of the room, next to a sink. The... bathroom? Sarah turned back to Phoebus, who had silently watched her observe her surroundings. He wasn't the one imprisoned. She was.