Defying Equilibrium

Chapter 22: Parallel dreams

Dare knew where he was the second the landscape took form around him. How could he forget this place? The frozen lake once again stretched on endlessly around him, and the same felling settled over him as it had always done in this place, the feeling of uneasiness. The forest at the shoreline, while beautiful, was forbidding and dangerous looking. And the entire landscape was eerily silent.

The icy wind swirled around him, but Dare didn't feel it at all. It was impossible to feel things like the wind in this place. In this world, he was nothing but an observer, unable to touch anything or interact with anything. In this world, he felt detached from life itself, if that were possible.

It was so quiet he could hear his heartbeat, although it seemed a lot slower than normal. Of course, he thought, I'm asleep right now. My body is still in the inn, and it's asleep.

“Siddy?” came a timid little voice from behind him.

He spun around, and there stood his youngest brother, only a few feet from him. “Nico?”

The second Dare spoke, Nico ran to him and wrapped his arms around him. He only reached up to Dare's thighs, but Dare crouched down and hugged him back, hard, and tried hard to repress the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. He had missed all of his brothers, so much, and now here was Nico, in the flesh.

Nico on the other hand was making no effort to restrain his crying. He sobbed into Dare's jacket, the loud cry of a scared little kid. A little kid who knew that when he woke, two of his brothers would be gone once again. The house would feel empty when he woke. The darkness would come back when he woke.

They stayed like that for a long time, the reunited siblings sharing in how much they missed each other. When they broke apart, Dare pulled back and looked his little brother in the eye. There was a sadness there that he couldn't quite figure out. Nico still gripped a lock of Dare's long hair in his small hand, and did not look as if he was going to let go of it. Other people were the only thing that he could touch in these places.

“Where are you, Sidney?” Nico asked.

Dare forced himself to laugh a little.”I'm right here, you silly little kid.”

Nico shook his head. “No, where are you really? Where are you sleeping?”

Dare didn't answer. He couldn't. It would only worry Xander and Jackson when Nico told them, which he definitely would. It occurred to Dare that Jackson would be home by now, and would be wondering where he was. Worrying about him.

“I'm safe,” he answered finally. Nico wasn't satisfied with that, but he didn't push further.

“Can you come home now?” he asked hopefully.

Dare shook his head. “I'm sorry. I don't know when I'll be home,” he answered honestly.

Nico looked like he was about to cry again. Tears were welling at the corners of his eyes. “Why not? Come home!” he almost yelled.

Dare too was on the verge of crying now. “I can't!” He didn't mean to yell, but it came out that way anyway. “Sorry,” he mumbled when he saw his brother's expression.

“You're not with the Shielders, are you?”

Dare was taken aback. How did Nico know that? How did Nico know that he wasn't where he said he was? He wanted to answer that yes, he was with the Shielders, but for some strange reason he felt that he couldn't lie. Maybe that was just guilt. “No, I'm not.”

Nico sniffed. “That's what Xander said. He wants you to come home too.”

“Is that what you came to tell me, Nico? To come home?” Nico nodded, and Dare sighed. “I'll try, alright? I'll try to be home as soon as possible.”