Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 366

Chapter 366: Trapped below
Mia was caught in the deep mire of vicious nightmares. Thick green liquid oozed from every surface, sticking to her, pulling her down. Trapping her feet and slowing her progress towards her goal.

Even realizing that this must be a dream, there seemed to be nothing to do to escape it, no way to modify it. She was screaming with no sound, running with no speed, crying with no tears.

Sucked ever more firmly into the slime that crept up her shins and dripped from the sky to splatter across her hair, her arms, her face.

Shivering violently, she could feel it begin to burn her skin like acid.

She’d never felt so cold. So hopeless.

The screaming effort of every muscle and the utter lack of progress in any endeavor were at such odds that she began to break under it.

Pressure on her mind was all that held it together. She could see nothing there, but nonetheless she felt it like an anchor on her soul. Like a pull she never had to look for.

Turning, she tried to follow it. The ever-present tug on her very being which drew her. Not so much a feather touch now as a grip, pulling her.

She knew it was out there, knew if she could just follow it…

The line between dream and reality was tenuous as she pursued consciousness. Soft voices around her, were they real or a product of her imagination? A conjuring of whatever poison she could feel racing through her veins even now, or something tangible?

A gentle pressure on her hand replaced the tug on her spirit.

Several times she slipped back into the dreams, as if weighed down by the haunting images. Unable to pull free, to get to the light she knew was out there.

It was a fight, and she was not ready to give up just yet.

Forward, forward, up towards the light. Eyes, open! But they were leaden, unmoving. Speak, call for help!

A soft groan pressed through her lips, but was it all in her mind? Was it enough for anyone to hear?

It couldn’t be!

But no… the voices were changing.

“Mia… please, can you hear me?”

The pressure on her hand grew stronger for a moment, and she tried to reciprocate. She was here! She was all right!

Was she all right?

“I think she squeezed my hand, but I’m not sure,” The voice, that familiar and comforting voice.

She gathered her wits about her, binding them together as tightly as she could, and looked for Ford. Deliberately. Intently. Steadfastly.

The secondary pull, which had disappeared when the pressure on her hand began, solidified and reinforced; a metal bar rather than a strong rope. Something she could really grip firmly, that wouldn’t fray or tear.

Pulling on it with every bit of her mental strength, she finally managed to open her eyes.

“…” The monumental effort it took to do so meant that she had not one bit of energy left for words. Her lips opened, but nothing came.

“Mia,” When Ford said her name, her mouth went dry. She tried to smile at him, but it was so difficult. Why was it so difficult?

She nodded slightly instead—or at least she thought she did—why did that seem like less trouble than talking?

Simplicity, she supposed. Move head up, then let it drop back into place. No complicated movement of her tongue and lips while she pushed air out of her lungs and across her vocal chords.

Simplicity was all she could manage right now.

“How you feeling, Bug?”

Grandpa’s voice brought moisture to her eyes, and her energy faded. In a moment she might fail to keep mentally treading water and drop below the surface of the mental waves, back into unconsciousness.

She didn’t want that to happen. She shook her head just slightly, worn out by the action.

“Ok, you just rest then.” Seth spoke now, and gentle fingers pushed her hair back from her forehead.

She had not the life left in her to nod once more, but her eyes drifted closed of their own accord.

“Will she be all right?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“I don’t like that at all.”

“Me neither.”

The words touched a corner of her mind, and a second hand joined the first in holding hers. Ford must be very concerned to want her magic to come back more quickly. Maybe they were in danger and needed her?

She tried to push back to consciousness, but it was a long while before she was able. She tumbled through dreams for what felt like years before making it back to the surface.

When her eyes finally opened again, it was dark. Well, nearly dark. There was a strange, soft glow around them, making the semi-cave appear magical in its own right.

Was it?

No, that didn’t make much sense to her muddled mind.

Her fingers twitched, and she heard and felt swift movement by her side.

“Mia? Mia, are you awake?”

She swallowed thickly before wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue.

“Yes.”

The single word preceded several faces coming into her field of view, wearing expressions varying from extreme concern to deep relief. How long had it been, she wondered?

“Mia, we’re so glad you’re all right,” Anaisa told her with a sigh. “Are you thirsty? Hungry?”

Mia remembered vomiting at the sight of the monster’s blood. Her stomach churned, whether from hunger or protest at the memory, Mia couldn’t quite tell.

“I killed it,” She whispered.

“Yes, you saved us all,” Seth brushed his hand over the top of her head like he used to do when she was little.

“I don’t feel well,” She told him, her eyes watering.

“Have some water, Mia,” Anaisa urged. “You’ll feel worse if we let you get dehydrated.”

Mia obediently sipped from a canteen before blinking away more sleep and looking around.

“We shouldn’t waste time. We should go.”