Winter's Edge

Chapter 14 - Separation

Abby

I gasped as Ian's finger caressed my cheek, thrusting me into a memory of my dad wiping a tear from my face. His warm arms had held me in a comforting embrace as he assured me he'd return in a couple of days. We'd just gotten back from a supply run that morning and he'd taken me to a movie the night before like we did every year to celebrate my birthday. But something had happened to my dad's friend, Jonathan, and Joseph was intent on going right back out for another supply run for some reason.

Dad kissed me on the forehead then vanished out the door. It was the last time I saw him.

I'd purposely blocked it out years ago, not wanting to think about it anymore, but now it'd come back with a vengeance.

The memory wasn't what had caused the gasp, though. It was the feeling of flesh and bone tearing from me without any pain at all. It sent a shudder through me. It was like I'd burst from the confines of my body and become weightless.

Darkness crouched at the outskirts of my soul, peering in, waiting to overtake me. I shrugged away the feeling, far too enthralled by the other sensations coursing through me. What was frightening a moment before had become an adrenaline rush of excitement.

"Abby?"

Shock left me speechless, but I managed to find my voice again. "Yeah?"

Ian's tone grew stronger with fearful intensity. "Abby?"

"I'm right here." What was he freaking out about?

That's when it hit me. I wasn't sitting on the bed like I had been before...I was standing a few feet from it. When I turned to see the situation, everything went cold inside. A body lay on the bed, lifeless...

...and it looked just like me.

No...it was me!

Ian arched over my body and shook my shoulders, a subtle dark haze outlining his figure.

"Abby," he shouted, holding my head in his hands.

I stumbled backward at the sight, then fell. Mid-fall, everything went black for a split second, then a stone wall appeared in front of me. I scurried backward in shock, looking all around me, trying to figure out where I'd ended up.

The familiarity of the room set in. It was Reilly and Jesse's quarters next door. I heard them breathing nearby, fast asleep. Had I just fallen through their wall?

No way.

Ian's voice quieted, but I still heard it, not from the other room, but in my head. "Abby! Wake up!"

Grasping at sanity, I picked myself up off the floor. My gaze traveled from my legs to the stone wall, then jerked back to my legs again. They did not look right. I held my hand in front of my face. The wall was faintly visible through it. My body was translucent.

I had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation.

A light pressure pulsed against my chest. Ian's soft but distraught voice sounded in my head again. "Come on, Abby."

Mustering courage, I put my hand against the wall, then pushed through. It disappeared into the stone. I pulled it back through and looked it over.

Wow!

The pulsating on my chest turned to light thumps. Ian's voice sounded more panicked.

I stepped to the wall, closed my eyes, and pushed through without resistance. My vision went black, then my loft appeared.