Somnia

Chapter Thirteen

"We need to talk," I say. Shep still has a firm grip on my shoulders. He looks me right in the eyes.

"Yes. We do." I forcefully remove myself from him and take a couple steps back. "You can start by explaining yourself."

"How are you here?" I demand when he still hasn't spoken. "You're not real!"

The look in his eyes is sharp. "I became real the second you wrote my name on a piece of paper."

"Yeah right," I scoff. "So that means I can go write down a million dollars and BAM look at me, a millionaire."

"Doesn't work that way, kid. A million dollars isn't a part of you."

There are new sirens in the distance. Shep turns his head in the direction they're coming from and stares for a moment.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask.

Shep gives me a look of disdain. "How are you possibly an Author when you know so little?"

My brow is set low, the look in my eyes dark. "I don't know if you remember, but you locked me in an abandoned world that wiped almost all my memories." He's walking too fast and I'm getting winded. I grab his arm and yank him around. "I don't even remember my family because of you!"

He leans forward and looks me right in the eyes, his face only inches from mine. "What makes you think I had a choice?"

This stops me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say. "That I shouldn't be angry at you because you're just a victim? That your Author made you do it?" I scoff. "Well, hate to disappoint, but I'm your Author!"

"Yes, I know. And you wrote my story."

"You were the hero. Heroes don't do this!"

"No!" He shouts, his voice overlapping mine. "You abandoned that story and decided to put me in one about Somnia. In this story Destiny is the hero and I'm just the villain."

"Oh, you don't get to play that card," I say. "As soon as you trapped me in Somnia you were free from my control. You could have stopped then. Continuing to be the villain was a choice."

He stands a little straighter, letting out a slow breath through his nose. "I guess it was." But then he grins. "You're right. I could have stopped. But when I realized you wrote me with the opportunity to win I couldn't give it up." He laughs at me. "Writing about Somnia? That was a big mistake. Not even abandoning that story would have hurt me. I was already home." He glances around as if suddenly remembering where he was. Reality. He grins again.

"Not only has Destiny failed to fulfill her role as the sad, confused, little hero that she is, but I've also outsmarted my sad, confused, little Author. I'm real now. I get to decide how this story ends."

"And how does it end?" I ask. I don't get an answer. My vision goes dark as a bag is thrown over my head from behind. It smells starchy and stuffy. A man, someone bigger than Shep, picks me up and throws me over their shoulder.

"Hey!" I shout and eat a mouthful of burlap. The man heaves me forward and something shuts above me. I'm in the trunk of a car. They didn't bother tying me up, so I rip off the bag with no problem. Not that it makes a difference. I still can't see a thing. My hands find the door of the trunk just inches above me and I start pounding my fist against it, shouting for help. The engine starts and the car drives. The road isn't far beneath me and I feel every little bump and pothole.

I do the best thing I can think of. I find a comfortable position, close my eyes, and try to fall asleep.

I can't sleep.