The Forgotten Jedi - Rey Skywalker // Book V in A Spark of Hope

Chapter Forty- Dustin.

The children's laughter erupted throughout the small cottage on the quiet planet. Dustin smiled at his wife at the noise, his eyes drifting towards the doorway as his children ran in.

"Daddy!" exclaimed the little boy, running into his arms. "Guess what?"

"What?" Dustin asked.

His daughter smiled before explaining, "It's Life Day!"

He gasped, "It is?"

She nodded in return.

"Can we open presents?!" his second son asked.

His wife laughed, "Sure, Peter, we can."

"Yay!"

The three children exclaimed.

Dustin picked up his youngest son and daughter, and walked them through the hallway and into the living room, unaware of the tragedy that hid around the corner....

—

My eyes shoot open as I sit bolt upright in an unfamiliar room. My breath is quick, panicked. Memories from the previous months flood back to me, only making my panic attack worse. Suddenly I can't breathe, I can't move, my heart is racing— it almost hurts, everything sounds distant yet so, so loud, I can't breathe, I can't—

"Hey?" a sudden voice snaps me back into reality slightly. It's familiar, but I'm currently unable to place it. "Take a deep breath, alright?"

I listen to the voice, taking a deep breath. Then another. And then another. After a few minutes, I soon manage to control my breathing and calm myself, though my heart still races slightly in my chest.

I scan my surroundings. I'm in a glass cell with metal bars, and I'm sitting on a cot in the corner of it. There's five other cells, and four other prisoners— five if you count me.

Two prisoners of the prisons are women, and the two others are men.

The room starts to feel more familiar.

"Hey? Are you with me?"

My eyes go in the direction of the voice.

Rey sits at the edge of her cot, holding tightly to her pillow. She wears a concerned expression on her face. It seems she's the only one awake.

Thank the Force.

"Are you okay?" she asks, worried.

I nod slightly, "I'm fine. I'm fine. Just a nightmare." I don't know if I'm telling her or myself. "Umm, sorry I woke you."

"You didn't wake me." Rey says, shaking her head. "I was already up."

"Why?" I ask, frowning slightly. "Everyone else is asleep."

"I was trying to contact my husband through the force." she explains. "We have a force-bond, which is basically a connection made by two people who are force sensitive. I was hoping I could tell him where we are so they could come and save us but apparently these dang cells are force-sensitive proof."

"That sucks."

"Yeah," she agrees. "But it's not like I could sleep even if I wanted. I always have to read before bed, or else I can't sleep. Reading calms me."

I nod again.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Rey asks. "The nightmare?"

"It was nothing."

"It didn't sound like nothing." she replies, then sighs. "I know nightmares are scary. If you want, I could tell you about the one I had."

I frown. "You said you weren't sleeping?"