Dreamwalkers: The Awakening

CHAPTER 20

Freshly decontaminated and buzzing with nervous energy, we follow Veronica to a door marked 'Observation Room 3'. "There's something Dr. Milton would like to share with you." She gives the wooden door a soft rap of her knuckles before opening it.

Dr. Milton stands inside the small room, his back to the door, focused intently on something. He doesn't react to us entering. Veronica closes the door as she leaves. "Dr. Milton," I announce softly. "Veronica said you wanted to speak with us."

"Yes," he clears his throat as he turns to face us. "I wanted to introduce you to my son." Stepping aside, he gestures to the emaciated young man unconscious in a pod behind a thick glass window. "This is Paul." Countless wires and tubes run in and out of the pod. Machines and monitors surround him, flashing constant information. A nurse, dressed in what looks like full surgical gear, stands at his bedside. He makes notes in a medical chart and adjusts settings on Paul's equipment. One of the buttons the nurse presses transforms the shape of Paul's pod from a supine hospital bed into a reclining chair.

"Paul is in our extended care facility."

Paul's exhausted, worn body barely clings to life. Bruises from intravenous lines dot his arms and neck. Having never seen someone who's been hospitalized for such a lengthy time, I'm taken aback by his harsh appearance. "Your son is lost?" I ask.

"Yes. He has been for two and a half years." Pressing my palm against the glass, I close my eyes, knowing in my heart that finding and saving him will be next to impossible.

He takes a deep breath and motions toward the seating area in the room. Zoë and I sit and he follows. "There are others, here at our facility, who are also profoundly lost. Paul is one of eight individuals we care for who've not been conscious within their physical bodies for over six months. I've heard that the eight have taken up residence together somewhere in the void and are managing to keep themselves alive. I've no idea how they're doing this or where they are, though. One of our residents claims to have observed them on several occasions."

Zoë questions him. "If someone has seen them, why didn't they help them home?"

"Unfortunately, to an individual without your specific set of abilities, returning a lost dreamwalker home is an impossible task. The darkness has a hold on them and manipulates what they see. You are the only one who can show them the truth, Miss Carver."

I stand up from my chair and walk the few steps to the window. Paul's gaunt face glares back at me, begging for help. I watch as his bed moves again, changing his position. Watching him lie there looking like he's knocking on death's door triggers something inside of me that erases all of my doubts and fears. This is who we are. This is why we're here.

Duringmy speech at the gala, I told everyone I'd stop at nothing to return theirloved ones home. I don't think I truly meant it until this moment.

* * *

After a somber walk to the pod room entrance, Dr. Milton says goodbye to us outside the door. "I'm afraid this is goodbye for now. Once I turn you over to Dr. El-Amin and Dr. Alvarez, I won't see you again until after your return."

"What? You're leaving us?" I question, finding it difficult to believe he'll be walking away.

"You'll be in quite capable hands," he reassures me.

Dr. Alvarez stands on the other side of the glass doors smiling broadly, waiting for us to enter. As they slide open, he can barely contain his excitement. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."