The Healer 4

Part 19

Slowly, I started to wake up in a dream that was so vivid that, if I didn't know it was a dream, I would've thought I was actually awake. I was running through the trees and away from something I couldn't see. I knew I couldn't stop, no matter how tired or out of breath I was. It was dark and foggy, and I could barely see in front of me, ducking under tree limbs as they came into view inches from my face. I could hear snapping twigs and branches close behind me, making me push myself that much harder -that much faster. My lungs ached with every breath. My heart felt like it would burst through my chest at any second. My bare feet throbbed with every step as the sharp little twigs and stones pierced through my skin.

Just as a clearing came into view with no fog in sight, I tripped and skidded to a stop. As I tried to get up, whoever was chasing me pinned me to the ground. I kept struggling to get free, but I was no match for them. I would just start to get the advantage and start to get to my feet, and they'd knock me back down and pin me.

'WAKE UP!! ... WAKE!! UP!!' I kept thinking, but it didn't seem to work. I was trapped in a nightmare with no hope of escape. With one final kick, I lunged forward and caught my footing, sprinting across the small opening. I made it as far the crest of the small hill, before they caught me again. As we tumbled down the small incline, I broke free, and, when I stopped rolling, I jumped up and took off, sprinting through the trees as fast as my legs would carry me.

It felt like I ran for miles with them right behind me, just out of their grasp. I knew I wouldn't be able to last much longer, and I couldn't make myself wake up. The pain in my entire body felt so real that I started to wonder if I was really dreaming or not. 'Maybe, this is real. ... Maybe, I got away, somehow. ... But I'd remember it, wouldn't I?'

A huge log appeared out the fog just a few feet in front of me, so I jumped over, only to fall off the edge of cliff with no bottom in sight. I screamed and thought 'WAKE UP!! ... WAKE!! UP!!'

The harsh breeze whistling past me made me wonder, again, if I was dreaming. 'It can't be real. ... How would I have gotten away? ... It doesn't make sense. This has to be dream.' As I crashed through the unforgiving surface of water, I felt the sting and shock of it rush through me. I started to kick, trying to find my way to the surface, but I couldn't tell which way was up. I forced myself to relax and let out half of the breath I had, which wasn't much. It only amounted to a few small bubbles, but I was able to figure out which way was up. I kicked and kicked, until I broke the surface and gasped for air. 'This is NO dream. ... I'm awake. ... How the Hell did I escape?! ... The last thing I remember was William shocking me. ... Where the Hell am I? ... Mel?! ... Mel, can you hear me?!'

I spun myself around in a circle, trying to determine which way to swim, but I couldn't see anything except for the cliff I'd fallen off of. I swam over to the cliff and clung to a small piece of rock sticking out just below the surface of the water. I let myself relax, slightly, to catch my breath and calm down. 'Maybe, if I follow this cliff one way or the other, I'll find a dry place, ... but which way.' I glanced both ways, trying to decide which way to go, but neither way felt right. I closed my eyes and let go of the rock, hoping to get a sense of which way I needed to go. As I spun in a circle, I let myself get a sense of which way to go. When I did get a sense, I opened my eyes to see nothing in front me, but the cliff was at my back. 'Straight across?! ... How far could it be?' I hesitated for a few minutes, but I willed myself to push away from the cliff and go into the open water.

I swam for so long that my arms and legs would barely move anymore, so I rolled and floated on my back, trying to get up enough strength to keep going. 'I can't see anything through this fog. I'm probably swimming in circles. ... I'm so exhausted, but I can't stop. I have to keep going.' After I turned myself over and started to swim, again, I heard a faint splash behind me and turned around automatically. It sounded a long ways away, but I knew, if it was one of them, I didn't stand a chance. I was only lucky to have gotten away from them in first -or second- place. 'There's no way I can outrun them, ... or overpower them ... or out swim them. ... So, how DID I get away? ... It just doesn't make any sense.' All at once, it hit me. 'Isiah! He's still connected to me. It has to be him. ... But what is all this? ... A memory? ...' A knot forming in my stomach told me it was time to move ... and fast.