Alternate Dream Part 2

2 .Prologue

Pea was running through a field of wildflowers. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining on her face, and she felt so alive.  She couldn't remember the last time she was so happy.

Wait... she was never this happy. Why wasn't she ever truly happy? She couldn't remember.  She slowed to a halt and looked around.  Something wasn't right. Something was missing. What was it?

She turned around, looking frantically in every direction. What was missing? Suddenly, She took off in a sprint back in the direction she came from.

"Nina!"

She woke up with a start, breathing heavily and heart pounding.  The sound of her voice screaming for her sister was echoing inside her brain, causing a terrible headache.

She looked around at her bedroom, beginning to calm as she remembered where she was. Another nightmare. She's had them almost every night since Nina's disappearance.

She looked at her clock. 11:47pm. She didn't even make it past midnight this time. They were getting worse and so was she. Lack of sleep and constant worry was eating away at her body and mind. She couldn't keep on like this. This wasn't working. But what could she do?  Nina's team were the experts in their fields, not her.

After her disappearance they'd called in all leadership to the archaeological site to work on figuring out what had happened to her. And she couldn't help but stare in disbelief as every news outlet that had covered the story had offered up their thoughts on the matter.  Some people believed she just chose to sneak away, get a new life. Some believed she'd found a new chamber to explore, only for it to close behind her, effectively burying her in a tomb. Some suggested she'd been kidnapped or murdered. 

Her eyes closed tightly shut. She refused to believe any of those. She just knew Nina was alive and knew she'd never willingly disappear without saying anything to anyone.  Images of one specific interview flashed through her mind.  A boy from Nina's team had claimed Nina had cracked the code on some unusual designs in an underground chamber and it magically teleported her somewhere. She just disappeared right in front of them. Of course, he had become the laughing stock of the archaeological community, but Pea just knew that was the claim she needed to follow to find Nina. It was the only lead she had.

After three weeks of no answers, Pea decided if no one else was going to take this seriously and find her sister, then she would. She stood up and began to pack her bags.

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

Pea sat on a bench, ankles crossed, munching on the snack she'd brought as she waited to spot Tom.  After visiting Steve and getting all the information she could from him, she had gotten on the first flight to Turkey. She had just flown halfway around the world, survived airplane changeovers, baggage claim, and riding on a bus for hours to arrive at her destination. She wished Nina was there to see her, she would be so proud. Shocked, but proud.

After checking into a hotel, she found the archaeology team's boarding house and sat at a bench that had a view of the entrance.  Steve had shown her pictures of Tom on his phone, so she'd simply wait here until she spotted him, hopefully alone. She wasn't sure what time they quit for the day, but she'd wait all night if she had to.  Other than wanting to find her missing sister as soon as possible, Pea had never had a problem with being patient.

Around 2 hours later, she realized there was a serious problem with her plan.  Her snacks and drinks were finished and she needed to find a restroom, badly.  She didn't want to miss spotting Tom, but she had put her needs off as long as she could. Upon exiting the lobby restroom, loud laughter coming from the other direction caught her attention. There was a small group of people in their early or mid twenties leaving a side door of the building, heading down the street to a local cafe.  She was about to turn and head back to the bench when she spotted him.  His charismatic hands were aiding him in an elaborate story he was telling, earning him more laughs from the group.