The Sandman's Daughter

Fourteen

Cassie paced outside of the ICU waiting room. The long hallway covered in beige carpeting gave her a headache just looking at it. Too much negativity hung in suffocating clouds here. Way too many of the town's children occupied beds in the cold, sterile rooms around her, their conditions unknown as they slept on without even the faintest glimmer of waking up.

Parents, siblings, and friends sat in hopeless clumps, praying that the doctors would come up with an answer.

She sighed, knowing there wasn't anything the doctors could do. Something out there, beyond science and medicine, had their children in its claws. It didn't matter how much blood work the hospital did, they would never find the answers among platelets and cell counts.

Sam was in the ICU waiting room, talking to Riley's mother. It was family only beyond the heavy, metal doors separating them from the ICU floor. She was trying to get permission to see him, if only for a few minutes.

Cassie thought it was pointless. Even if Riley's mom agreed to let them see him, the hospital never would. It was their rule and they would enforce it.

Not even a frantic would-be girlfriend could change that.

Sam came out, looking paler than when she went in.

Cassie took one look at her and frowned deeper than she had for the last 10 minutes. There was no way they could pull this off. They'd been shot down before they'd even begun. "She won't let us in, will she?" she asked finally.

Sam shook her head. "No, that's not it. She understands my need to go in, but...it's the hospital. They won't allow it. Even with Mrs. Jones' permission."

"So, that's it. There's nothing we can do."

Her friend smiled. "I didn't say that. We'll just have to find a way to sneak in."

***

Sam pushed the window up farther, peering in the stuffy hospital room.

Riley lay silently in the bed, eyes closed to the world as machines beeped around him.

Sam looked back at Cassie, who stood below the window, outside. "He's alone. We better do this quickly," she said before hoisting herself through the open window.

Cassie sighed, thinking what a terrible idea this was, but...she'd do anything to see Sam happy again. So, what if they got thrown out of the hospital? Well, if there we lucky that's the worst they'd get. She'd hate to think they'd throw them in jail for just visiting a friend.

This was such a bad idea.

She followed Sam, hoisting herself through the window and hopping down next to her. Her sleep starved mind didn't have the energy to argue against the plan anymore. The sooner she tried to wake Riley, the better everyone would be.

She'd give Sam hope once more and maybe find the answers she desperately needed. Cassie had to find a way to stop this nightmare.

She dragged a chair next to the one Sam was in and stared at Riley.

It was hard to connect the boy in the bed to the one she was standing in the halls with yesterday. He was drawn and pale, like a lump of wax half melted on a window sill.

Her eyes stung as she watched Sam gently take his hand, her fingers threading through his still ones. Her friend's face crumpled as she bowed her head, clinging desperately to Riley's hand as she wept softly.

This wasn't right. The pain this thing had unleashed on this town was unforgivable. Something had to be done before there was no one left to mourn the fallen.

"Sam," Cassie whispered, not knowing what else to say. What could you say to someone who knew the love of their life was slipping right through their fingers?

Sam raised her head, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes before meeting Cassie's. "How do we do this?" she asked, trying to steady her breathing.

Cassie sighed, her eyes darting away from her to the sleeping guy. She had no idea how she was supposed to help him. "I don't know. I've never done this on demand before. Once I'm asleep I'm automatically pulled somewhere. It's not something I do intentionally."

"I need you to try."

"I honestly don't know if this is even possible."

The fingers of Sam's free hand picked nervously at Riley's blanket. "I can't lose him, Cass."

Cassie frowned, but closed her eyes, focusing on Riley. She pictured him during his happy moments; exhilarated as he sprinted across the football field, grinning like an idiot as he slung an arm around Sam's shoulders. She sat there in silence, willing herself to follow the threads of his essence into the dream world.

"Is it working?" Sam asked after a few minutes.

Cassie opened her eyes with a sigh and looked over at her friend. "No, it's not. I told you this wouldn't work."

"Don't say that," Sam whispered as she sucked in a harsh breath. Panic flooded her eyes as she set her jaw, glancing back at the guy in the bed. "Please. There must be something you can do, Cass. There has to be."

Cassie took in the silent tears streaming down Sam's face. "I'll try again." She reached out, taking Riley's hand from Sam, hoping the contact would be the added edge she needed.

His skin was cool to the touch, almost as if he only had a tenuous hold on his body. She grimaced as she tightened her hold on his hand. She prayed that didn't mean they were already too late. She closed her eyes, feeling his skin against hers. "Riley, if any part of you is in there, I need you to open yourself up to me," she spoke softly, almost as if it was a prayer. She was afraid she wasn't close enough to him, she didn't have a deep enough connection to him to pull their essences together. He was just another popular boy at school, one who would never pay attention to a girl like her. They were from two different worlds. How could she ever find any common ground between them?

She thought of Sam suddenly. They way her eyes lit up when he walked into a room. The way she tilted her head with a sigh when he smiled for her and her alone. Sam was the connection between Cassie and Riley. They both loved her. Maybe that love was enough.

Cassie took a deep breath, thinking thoughts of Sam and the way Riley would do anything for her when she felt a tug at her awareness. Something was reaching out to her. Someone. Their awareness flitted around the thoughts of Sam like a moth drawn to the light, desperately wanting to cradle them to it.

Riley.

Cassie reached out, letting her mind entwine with the fluttering. Thoughts of Sam became brighter, flickering with a love so deep it threatened to drown her. The amount shocked her to the core. He loved her with every essence of his being, every fiber of his soul was hers to command. Why was Sam letting that sit on a back burner? Didn't she understand that there would be no greater love for her than his?

From somewhere outside of her, Cassie heard a sharp intake of breath. "Whoa, Cass. You're fading," Sam's voice called from somewhere distant. It didn't matter, thought, she had found the connection she needed. She could follow Riley down.

"No," Sam's voice came again. "Not without me." Her hand clamped down on Cassie's tightly. "You're not facing this alone." The warmth from Sam's hand burned through hers, warming Riley's hand as it lay still against Cassie's palm. Bright, searing light hit the connection as it magnified infinitely and, just like that, they were gone.