Etched In Stone

Chapter Eleven

He lurches forward as she falls and throws out his arms, wrapping one around her shoulders and the other around her waist. He crouches on the ground with her in his arms, his eyes scanning over her quickly. Her skin feels hot and her breathing is laboured, her chest moving in and out rapidly every few seconds.

"What's wrong with her?" He asks in a panic, turning his head to find Ian.

He falls to his knees beside him and presses his hand to her forehead, his arms taut.

"She's burning," he says anxiously. "Jake, how did you unlock your powers so easily?"

"What -?"

"How did you do it?" He cuts across him with an urgent tone.

"I don't know," he shakes his head in response, "She just did something - she said something about us both having the same dream -"

"God damn it." Ian mutters, swearing under his breath. "Damn it... I told her not to try that anymore. Jake, I'm going to go wake Saren. You bring Serena up to her room, please." He emphasises the last word, stressing the urgency of the situation.

Jake starts standing as Ian sprints out the door and towards the direction of the staircase. He pulls Serena gently with him, shifting her weight so that she's held safely in his arms, with one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees, holding her up. She let's out a small groan, barely audible. Her breath still comes in short gasps.

He's surprised at how panicked he feels seeing her this way - he'd had no idea that he cared for her to this extent up until this very moment. Maybe they had been a lot closer than he could remember when they were little.

He couldn't understand why she had gotten ill so out of nowhere, or why Ian was so anxious - something like this must have happened before, and it must have been bad. He just wished someone would explain things to him properly.

He starts moving towards the door as fast as he can with Serena clutched in his arms, making his way up the staircase carefully. He finds her bedroom down the hall from his - it's similar; not much in the way of personal possessions, a bedside table, a chair, a single bed with fading purple sheets. He places her down on her bed as gently as he can. At that moment, Ian and Saren's footsteps sound down the hall and they burst into the room in an apparent panic.

"She's right there," Ian says to Saren, gesturing to Serena lying motionless on her bed.

"I need both of you out," she orders, "Please."

Ian takes hold of Jake's shoulders and hurriedly shoves him out of the room. He glances back at Serena once more over his shoulder as Saren leans over her, her hands placed on her temples.

"What's going on?" Jake demands as soon as they get into the hall and he shuts the door behind him. "Why is Serena sick? What is Saren doing?"

"Saren is trying to heal her." Ian exhales, fixing Jake with a serious stare. "But it's not going to do it completely. Serena hasn't been this sick for years."

"Why is she so sick?"Jake asks, his stomach lurching at the mention of illness.

"She used her powers to manipulate your dreams and give her the same one," he begins explaining. As he's talking, he glances at the door every few seconds. "But that takes a lot of effort, and puts a strain on her. The last time she did this she was young - I made her promise to never use it anything similar again."

"How is it such a strain on her?" Jake asks, biting down on his lip anxiously, so hard that he tastes blood.

"Certain aspects of her powers are just physically draining for her," Ian explains, "They break down her system little by little. If she were to pull things like that all the time, then..." He trails off, glancing at the door once more.

"Will Saren be able to heal her?"

"Not completely," Ian shakes his head, "But she'll be able to make it better." He sighs deeply, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now all we can do is wait."