Travellers

Back In Time

Alex sank down onto the couch once Amber had retired for the afternoon. He was feeling strangely disturbed about the news of Amber's confrontation with the stranger. When she'd told him about having a sword at her throat he'd felt his hands curl themselves into fists - as if they had a mind of their own. He tried to convince himself that the only reason he was so bothered was because if anything had happened to her then he would have failed in his mission to keep her safe. But deep down, he knew that it was more than that. There were feelings there that he wasn't ready to confront yet. If ever. Feelings for people made you vulnerable, and nobody knew that better than Alex. There was no way he was going to make the same mistake again. This was business. He had a job to do, and he was damn well going to do it!

Amber lay on the small bed, expecting to be awake for some time. But sleep came swiftly, and before she knew it her eyelids were closing.

Amber looked up and found someone standing in front of her. A woman. Her face was dirty and her clothes were all wrinkled, making it look like she hadn't changed or bathed in weeks. After taking in these minor details, Amber looked closer and realized that she was asian. She held her hands out in front of her, a look of pure happiness on her face, and her eyes full of love.

"You're alive," she whispered. "I knew you'd survive. You're like me, you're a fighter. Keep living - for me. Don't ever give up."

Amber took a step forward. "Who are you?" she whispered back. "Do I know you?"

The woman nodded, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks. "You've always known me. I'll always be with you. I love you so much. You've grown into the kind of woman I always knew you'd be. Strong, brave and beautiful. I'm so proud of you."

Amber took another step forward and reahed out her arm, but the woman began to disappear.

"Wait!" Amber called desperately. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't reply. She continued to look at Amber, the smile on her face growing sad before she disappeared completely.

Amber sat up, her heart thumping erratically. She glanced wildly around the room, but she was still in her bed. She let herself drop back into the bed, rubbing her hands over her face. It was a dream. She hadn't gone anywhere, it was just a dream. An incredibly strange and vivid dream, but still a dream. She breathed out a shaky sigh of relief. The woman's face was implanted firmly her mind and she couldn't get rid of it. It felt so surreal.

Three quick raps suddenly sounded on her door followed by Alex's familiar voice. "Amber?"

Amber sat up again, rubbing her eyes. "I'm awake."

The door opened and Alex walked in, looking like a giant in the small room. He looked her over and frowned.

"Did you get any sleep?" he questioned.

Amber shrugged. "A little."

His frown grew more pronounced. "You look like hell."

Amber scowled. "Wow," she remarked sarcastically. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good."

Alex pursed his lips and looked at her. "You looked better before I sent you to get some sleep," he commented bluntly. "Why have you woken up looking worse than you did before?"

Amber shrugged carelessly. "I had a bit of a weird dream, that's all."

"A dream?"

"Yeah, a dream. You know, when a person goes to sleep, sometimes they have dreams?" A note of irritation had leaked it's way into her sarcastic tone.

Alex took a step towards her. "Tell me what you dreamed."

Amber sighed, rubbing her temples. "I saw a woman. She was asian, and her clothes were wrinkled and her face was dirty. She was telling me that she was happy I was alive and that she was proud of me. She said that she loved me." Amber frowned as she recalled her dream. "It was so vivid," she muttered, almost to herself. "It was like I was really there." She raised her eyes to meet Alex's, and saw that his were guarded. She couldn't read any emotion at all to see what he thought.