Absent Link

Chapter 16: Conscious

When Dylan woke up, a real daze hit him. Emon so far had been the one thing that stuck with him, whether he liked it or not. Everything else was so fleeting, as if the universe was trying to teach him not to rely on anything, and now Emon was part of this lesson too. By now though, Dylan had almost been numbed to this pain. If this is what the universe felt was necessary in his life, what could he do about it? He remembered the promise he'd made to himself on the way back from Morris Oil, the reality that Amelia had made clear to him what felt like years back. Ignoring even the how, could Dylan kill him? Was this as serious of an issue as Amelia had made it seem? Dylan knew he had to agree. It had cost him not only his life, but the lives of possibly hundreds of other people, including those closest to him.

So, Dylan laid there on the couch, wandering in thought, detached from the world. It's anyone's guess as to how long he could have stayed there had Makalyn not shaken him out of it and gotten him moving eventually. Before the two could figure out someone to call or somewhere to go, Dylan had unleashed his feelings to her, telling her what he believed Emon was doing to him. He knew he couldn't trust Emon anymore, but his main concern was the things Emon could do to the world through him if he stayed.

"You know, you'd think that he'd be around right now to try and figure things out with us, but who knows where he is? It's like he forgot this world existed as soon as he got what he wanted from it!"

Makalyn was speechless, sitting on the kitchen island chair with a solemn face. Dylan had vented for a while now, and was panting, though he did not cry.

Makalyn eventually squinted and looked at Dylan intensely, "Dylan, I really feel for you. But if you're scared of hurting people, is it even safe for you to be here?"

"See, that's the thing! I don't know! I don't know anything about what he's doing or why he does it! Amelia apparently had the same issue, and the only way she got around it was to kill the asshole!"

Makalyn drew back. She thought for a moment, then replied, "Are you going to?"

There was silence as Dylan considered the options. Amelia seemed to believe it was the only way, but Dylan wanted to believe he could be optimistic, though it seemed to contradict every instinct in him. "I don't know."

Neither Makalyn nor Dylan moved for the next minute or so. Perhaps they both wanted the pain to drive them forward, but just felt too empty to do so. Dylan eventually breathed in a long sigh and lifted his voice slightly. "Look, the best we can assume is that the people Amelia abducted are still around somewhere—"

"What? Dylan, I saw their bodies sucked into her hand."

"If you haven't noticed, this moss stuff isn't known for liking our laws of physics!" He said, slightly annoyed. Then his voice softened, not in a comforting way, but with a painful tone, "Plus, what can we do about it but hope."

Makalyn closed her eyes and bit her lip, then slowly responded. "You're right. So, what do you know about it."

Dylan knew the truthful answer was 'practically nothing', but he went with the more approachable response, "I don't think they're inside her. That makes less sense than the other option, which is that she somehow transported them into the Mind Realm."

"I don't know what that is, Dylan."

"Didn't I tell you? Back at the park?"

Makalyn scoffed. "If you think that's where my mind is at, you're unbelievably naïve."

"Ok, ok. I'll just explain what I know. It's... like... another dimension, but created by my moss, and any other moss host's minds."

"Dylan, you sound crazy." Makalyn's eyes sagged.