Title: When I Talk To You
Author: Lady of the Ink
Pairing: V/H
Category: Action/Adventure/Romance, with some good angst thrown in for flavor.
Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne, but you knew that. I hope. But I do own this story and all the plot twists it contains.

A/N: Someone asked about their ages; I forgot to note it in earlier chapters, but it's two years later. Hitomi and co. are hitting seventeen; everyone else is also two years older. For this story, Hitomi's brother is a year younger then her, so he's sixteen.

Chapter Three
Since The Days

Corey sighed as he made his way through the crowded mall. Tomorrow was Hitomi's seventeenth birthday. Even though he knew she probably wouldn't realize it, he didn't want to just skip the occasion. That was why he was braving the afternoon crowd to find just the right gift. The bookstore was out of the question; so was clothing. He wanted something she would appreciate, but nothing too uninspired. It had to be special.

As he headed for the south end, he found himself pausing at the window to a small jewelry store. Hitomi had treasured her pendant so much, it meant a lot that she had given it away. Maybe he could find one that would come to mean just as much.

He moved inside the store, feeling a little out of place amongst all the small displays. As he looked around helplessly, a bright glint caught his eye. Turning in the direction he had come from, he noticed a rack of silver chains, each with a different charm. Thinking that there might be one having something to do with running, he began to look through them.

Halfway down the line, one caught his attention. It was a delicate feather made of string-thin strips of silver so delicate, it moved almost like the real thing. And even though it was nothing like what he had had in mind, Corey found he couldn't walk away from it. There was just something right about it.

Never one to question the feelings like this that came on occasion, he picked it up and headed to the counter. He never even had a second thought as some inner voice told him it was perfect. It was so perfect, he almost couldn't wait to give it to her.

The sky was a swirling mass of red and deep blue, the same shades as a fresh bruise. Dark towers of smoke were barely visible against it, wavering their way upward from the snapping, growling fires spotting the ground.

Corey found himself standing in the midst of this scene of destruction. Smoke burned his throat and stung his eyes while the screams of unseen people resounded within his ears. Turning in circles, he could see nothing through the haze. An intense feeling of being alone swamped him, making him feel hopeless, lost. Afloat in a world that he was no longer truly a part of.

Like Hitomi must feel.

As soon as that thought registered within his mind, he was moving. He wasn't walking, but somehow floating forward at a rate reminiscent of a speeding car. A vague portion of his mind noted that this must be what a ghost moved like. Buildings, some in various states of being burned, passed by in a blur of color.

He found himself in the middle of a crowd of people forming a rough line. Looking closer, he saw them passing buckets of water up and down the line, trying to douse the flames. Even from his distance, Corey could see that they were fighting a losing battle. It was only a matter of time before the flames took firm hold and the people were forced to retreat.

His eyes caught a flash of pink. Turning slightly to get a better view, Corey found himself looking at one person in particular. It was a boy, maybe a year or two older than himself. He was at the front of the line, closest to the fire. His face was dark with soot, almost as dark as the black hair plastered to his head with sweat. Around his neck hung Hitomi's pendant.

"Van."

The name was nothing more than an eerie whisper of sound in his ear, but Corey recognized the voice immediately. Hitomi's voice.

No sooner had that registered than a loud, ominous creaking thundered through the air. With a thud as final as anything he'd ever heard, the top two floors of the building the people were working to save collapsed in on itself. Unable to move or even look away, Corey watched in horror as the front third of the line was buried under a heap of smoldering rubble.

"Van!!" Hitomi's disembodied voice wailed, pain liberally lacing the single word.

Before the echoes died away, Corey was being moved somewhere else. Moving through the entire town took only a moment. Soon he was passing through a forest, over mountainous terrain. He was close to the ground, flinching as trees that should have slammed right into him instead seemed to be made of nothing more than mist. Or, to be more accurate, he was made of mist.

A moving form was directly in front of him, racing so quickly it was just a blur of orange-ish tan color. He could hear whatever it was pulling in quick, panting breaths. A crash came from behind and the form sped up, a mewling cry that gripped his attention floating up towards him. Turning without thought, Corey found himself face to face with an approaching mob. Men with thick clubs and swords clutched in their hands pounded their way through the brush, intent on catching their quarry.

"Merle."

At Hitomi's voice, Corey twisted back to the streak, moving close enough to make out a furry face, pink hair, and orange dress. Now that he was focusing, he could clearly make out the half-cat, half-girl running on all fours. Tears were streaming across her face as she struggled to get away. He could feel the fear radiating off her, fear for her very life. From behind came the thicker, darker waves of anger and hatred that were worse than the smoke from earlier. This was a group of people intent on hurting someone just for being different. He didn't know how he knew this; he just did. Just as he knew he was going to stop it. Somehow.

He was moving again, being torn away so fast his surrounding were just a blur. He stretched one hand out to Merle, desolate at the thought of leaving her helpless, but she was already gone. He was floating now, in a place made of what seemed like glowing fog. It felt like someone was there with him, and though he couldn't see her, he felt Hitomi's presence.

"They're in trouble, and I can't help them." The voice was no longer outraged. It had settled into a deep despondency, so full of sorrow that Corey could feel his own eyes fill with tears at the heartbreaking sound. As Corey found himself being pulled away for the final time, the last thing he heard was Hitomi's whisper.

"Help me."

The Zymen Institute was as depressing as ever, but Corey didn't notice as much now. He went through the sign in routine, even though the woman had to know him by sight. His foot tapped an impatient rhythm as he waited for the door to unlock. He almost ran down the hallway, slowing only after getting a dirty look from a janitor mopping the floors.

Pushing open the door, he moved inside, going straight to Hitomi's bedside. Ignoring the chair, he sat on the bed itself. When Hitomi opened her eyes, he stared intently into them. "Do you remember? Were you really there last night, in my dream? Was that what you saw that scared you so badly?" Hitomi didn't move, gave no outward sign that she'd heard him. Sighing dejectedly, Corey summoned a halfhearted smile.

"Happy birthday, big sister." Reaching into his pocket, he wrapped his hand around the package there. "I didn't wrap it or anything, but I hope you like it." Pulling the small chain from the plastic bag, he dangled it over her head so she could look at it. To his surprise, it seemed as though she were doing exactly that. Her eyes swayed back and forth with the feather, seeming almost hypnotized by it. He hoped that that was a good sign.

Leaning over, he began to fasten it around her neck. As he sat back, he saw one hand drift to the necklace, loosely clutching the feather. Corey waited to see if anything else would happen, but she just lay there, unmoving. Sighing with regret, he stood.

"Well, I hope you like it. I'll see you tom-" His words were cut off as her free hand shot out to grasp his wrist with a strength he didn't know she had. Looking at him, really looking at him, she spoke her first words in weeks.

"He needs me."

Staring into her tormented eyes, Corey knew that she'd been there last night, had been there many times within her own mind. He knew why the sight had become too much for her to bear. The horror of seeing your friends die, over and over, every night was bad enough. But add to that the knowledge that it hadn't happened yet, and you still couldn't stop it was truly a fate worse than death.

Taking a deep breath, he squeezed her hand tightly. "I know. I'll find a way. I swear."

Up next: When We Were Friends.