FALL (DIMENSION Series #1)

CHAPTER 9

"Ellie!" a voice whispered with urgency.

     The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. It seemed to be floating in from somewhere else.

     I couldn't figure out where I was. I thought I might be entangled in something. It felt like it might be a spider web, but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't see anything and my hearing was muffled.

     "Ellie!" the urgent whisper sounded again. Neal, I thought. Neal was whispering, but why? What was Neal doing in this strange place? Was this a dream?

     "Ellie," a female voice said. "Ellie, are you all right?" It was Nisha.

     Neal and Nisha were talking to me and I wanted to respond to them. But I was stuck. I was tied up in the spider web. The web's stickiness covered my eyes, blinding me. And strands of silk were wrapped around my mouth. I wasn't able to open it. I wasn't able to speak, to say anything at all. And I was aware of my right shoulder. It seemed to be on fire.

     I thought of Derek. I wondered why he wasn't here. It seemed like he should be. He'd been with me earlier. I recalled seeing him clearly, even though the circumstances weren't clear. And it felt like I had earned his presence at this moment when I was trapped in a giant spider web. I'd earned it because of the hours of my life I'd devoted to him. The hours I'd spent thinking of nothing but him. And I suddenly wished he were here. If he were hovering over me, I'm sure I'd find a way to open my eyes. And I knew I'd manage to say some words to him.

     "Let me through," another voice said with urgency. "Give me some space," the same voice demanded.

     The new voice wasn't one I knew.

    "She's had the air knocked out of her," the new voice continued. And I felt something press up against my ribs.

     "But will she be all right?" Neal asked.

     I tried to nod my head, I wanted to let Neal and Nisha know that I was fine. I was detained, against my will, by the giant spider web, but I was fine otherwise. I tried to lift my hand, but my whole body was stuck. Maybe it wasn't a spider web, I thought. Maybe it was glue. Or even worse—cement.

      "The bones seem intact," the unknown voice said and I was aware that my limbs were being touched. It felt like being padded down, like they sometimes did at the airport. But it was more intense than that.

     When the hands touched my shoulders, I felt myself wincing. There was that pain again in my right shoulder. I had a realization about my right shoulder then. It was the same shoulder Derek had touched when he had taken the leaf from it in the hallway at school.

      I returned to that moment. The beautiful boy in black had held out the yellow-and-green leaf to me. And my shoulder had burned with his touch. And now the same shoulder was on fire with pain. Had his touch somehow marked my shoulder for something? For some future event? For the pain it was enduring now?

      Maybe I had been wrong about Derek. Maybe he wasn't going to bring good things into my life. Maybe this fall had been a warning of sorts. A sign to me to stay away from Derek Nash.

      "Ellie," Neal said again, sounding desperate.

      "I'm here," I tried to whisper, but I couldn't form the words. My mouth felt dry, like a cotton ball was stuck inside it.

      And then a terrible noise was inside my head. It was a loud screeching sound and it was unbearable. I thought I might die from it. I needed to get away. I tried again to move.