Shooting Star and Swallow's Song

Out of The Darkness

Before she woke, Alex dreamt.

Things faded into view. She was with her mom, sitting by her hospital bed, and she was not looking good at all.

"You almost never cried as a child. Did you know that?"

Alex slowly shook her head.

"That was the biggest challenge. How do you take care of someone already so strong?"

Alex didn't know what to say.

Her mother took her hand and placed something in it as she continued. "My brave girl. I need you to make me a promise. You have to stay strong for your brother and father. Can you do that for me?"

Alex nodded and tears came. She looked in her hands and saw the locket she knew that had her and Gabe's pictures in it from when they were younger. If she was given this, Alex knew what that meant.

She buried her head in the hospital bed beside her mother and cried. When she looked up to talk to her, she was somewhere else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She looked up and found herself back at home, with Gabe. Her dad was walking out the door and Alex felt distressed that she was unable to stop him.

She turned to her brother, "It's my job to keep us together. I have to make him stay!"

"You were eleven. Just a kid. It was never your job."

She could only stare at him, hating that he was right, still wanting to fix everything.

She tried chasing after her dad anyways and when she went through the door, she was somewhere else again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coming through the doorway, she found herself back at the apartment.

Steph was there, waiting for her in the middle of the room.

"Steph...why are you here?"

She didn't answer, but held out a hand.

Alex felt nervous, but walked up to her and took Steph's hand.

What number were we on...I lost track before...

She smiled and started leading her to the balcony roof. When they got to the door, Alex asked, "What's going on? Where are you taking me?"

"You can't stay inside. You need to go out. You have to wake up."

"What?"

"You have to wake up, Alex."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She woke up on her side, coughing and feeling pain in more ways she had ever at once. Blood had poured down her face from various cuts. Her wounds stung and felt freshly raw still. The worst pain came from an especially large wound on the side of her head. Alex realized this was the grazing shot from Jed. The events that led her to her current state immediately came back to her. She forced herself to sit up, despite the pain.

After managing to find a sitting position that hurt the least, Alex realized that besides there being almost any light, everything was blurry. As she scanned around in the darkness, Alex felt her glasses swinging from the side of her face. They were tangled in the side of her hair, though it was only a couple strands caught in the hinge that really kept them from falling. When she shifted them back onto herself, she was relieved to find that they were not cracked.

Putting them on did not help much though. She could hardly see anything besides what was right in front of her.

How am I going to get out of here? No one knows I'm here.