Separian - Book 1

Chapter 10

The world was still.

I thought I was dreaming but my mind felt tired. Like a migraine from thinking to hard. I couldn't begin to imagine anything. At least not beyond the pain I'd felt just before blacking out.

I was completely aware of my unconscious state. Was I lucid-dreaming? The black was a colour rather than an absence of it. Like when you're barely awake and your eyes start to close in a dark room. It filled my vision from end to end. Was this the waiting room before my mind figured out what dream I was going to have? Surely that meant I was already dreaming, no?

Still in one piece, are you? The question wasn't my own.

Am I dead? I thought back to it.

Do you feel dead? It responded. Because I would not be surprised if you were. You fight like a child. Running away as if you have no other recourse, firing blind punches in hopes that you hit something. She nearly severed your shoulder from your arm because you thought the idea of propelling yourself off the base of a tree straight at her rather than away was smart.

If not for whatever barrier it is you have subconsciously manifested to surround your body, we would both be dead. He was less than impressed with me, despite his inability to explain my ability. Still, if he was responding, that meant we were still alive. Barely alive, he said. And slowly bleeding out, thanks to you.

This is your fault! I threw back at him. If you didn't try to show of your twisted sense of discipline, we wouldn't be here!

He'd heard my emphasis and deliberately ignored it. If I give you back your body, do you have the strength to remain conscious? I was confused by the question. I do not have the time to explain. There is a chance we may survive if you regain control, but if I persist in this manner, we will certainly die.

I started, You've been in control for less than five minutes. What could you have possibly done-

Noah, you have been unconscious for six days, he cut in, and to be frank, I am not giving you a choice. I asked if you could stay conscious because I no longer have the strength to do so. As you are the host, my being in control takes more from me than it does from you. I do not know how long I will be unreachable. There was a brief pause. You have ten seconds to prepare yourself.

Prepare myself for what? I was still trying to come to terms with his "six days" comment but I didn't have time to dwell on it. This didn't feel like just another test.

As he tried to speak again, he burned up what few moments he'd had left. The once black sheet over my eyes warped into colour. White, orange, blue, red, blue, red... Ten second, huh? It felt more like I'd blinked.

"On the ground! Hands above your head!"

My head snapped around and surveyed the area. There was a man in a dark black uniform standing ten feet to my right with a gun trained on my chest. A car with flashing red and blue lights stood behind him. The siren now made its way to my ears. The gun shook in his hands and I felt my arms raise over my head. I wanted to live.

It wasn't long after that a body caught the light of the car in the corner of my eye. The body of a woman, shredded on the ground before me, her clothing just as mangled as her body. Ana... or Casey... Which was it?

What did you DO? I demanded. Silence. Tell me what happened! I thought, my voice rattling in my own ears.

"I SAID GET ON THE GROUND!" He placed his left foot back a few inches and braced himself to make the shot.