That night he dreamt. If you could call it dreaming, more like remembering. He remembered the red sky, the way is made the whole room a shade of crimson. He remembered the way it looked against her tan skin...
It was coming back in fragments. Clothes were coming off. They were in the bed. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. He was still feeling her emotions. Joy, love, pleasure.
He was watching the scene unfold like a fly on the wall then it hit him. She doesn't know. She has no idea he's in a wheelchair now. He could only do so much with his power to feed scenery in her mind, the rest was up to her and she saw what she wanted to see. When she woke up, if she woke up he'd have to break the news to her. He woke up with a start to Hank shaking him.
"Charles!," Hank said with his voice full of alarm. "CHARLES!"
"Wha..what's wrong?," Charles answered groggily.
"She's having a seizure!"
"Oh,my god. Get me up!," Cried cried up, waking up instantly. Hank helped him into his chair and Charles watched helpless as Alex held Elliott's body as it convulsed violently.
"Alex, keep holding her. Hank do what you can for her.," Charles said as he got his bearings.
It's now or never, he thought to himself as he positioned himself to make the link.
"What are doing?," Hank asked in a shocked tone.
"The only thing I can.," Charles answered.
Charles was in the mansion. The scene in front of him was horrifying. Walls around him were crumbling and the whole building shook. Charles looked around in fear. He plucked up his courage with one goal in mind.
"Elliott! Elliott!," He cried out as he raced down the disappearing hallways. He found in the room they were in last night. She was huddled in a corner crying her eyes out.
Charles ran to her and gathered her ups in his arms. She was shaking and still bawling as she wrapped her arms around him. Charles ran out of the room and followed the direction of steady ground, the scenery behind them still falling apart. Charles saw an open door leading to the outside of the mansion and ran through it. Outside was just as bad. Dark clouds covered the sky making it seem like night rather than day. The wind howled all around them and nearly knocked Charles off his feet. He could see a tree in the distance and made a dash for it as he tried with all his might to keep Elliott in his arms. Somehow they made it. He laid Elliott down sat down against the tree and pulled her in his lap. He looked up.
The mansion was gone. Where it once stood was just blackness in the sky. The darkness was headed right in their direction.
"Elliott, you have to listen to me.," Charles said as he looked down at her.
"None of this is real. You're in a coma."
Elliott looked up with confusion, then clarity as it sank in.
"Where am I really?," She asked. "You're in the mansion. I helped you see what it was like so you weren't wandering aimlessly in your mind. You're on life support but it's not going to last much longer."
"Am I dying?," Elliott asked.
"Yes, but you can stop that from happening if you wake up. Concentrate Elliott. Concentrate on getting out of here."
She tried to will herself awake and closed her eyes tight. When she opened them there were still under the tree.
"I can't do it."
"You have to!"
Elliott looked around the surroundings, then back at Charles. The look in her eyes was defeat.
"Get out here.," She said as she looked away from Charles.
"What? NO."
"Get out of my head while you still can."
"I'm not leaving you here."
The blackness was only a few hundred feet away now, and coming up towards them fast. "Please Elliott. Try one more time."
She did. and the blackness stopped in it's tracks, coming to a halt and the wind slowed down before picking back up.
The darkness turned to light, a light so bright Charles pulled Elliott into him to sheild her eyes and he used to his free hand to cover his face. The light enveloped him and then there was nothing.
Charles' eyes snapped open. Hank was still there and Alex too. They were looking down at Elliott. Charles wheeled around to her from the side. She wasn't breathing. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"Elliott! Elliott, no! Come back!"
She still laid there unresponsive. Then he felt it. Her hand squeezed back, gently at first then her grip tightened. Her eyes fluttered opened. She turned to her left and saw Charles as he has smiled at her.
"Where am I?," She asked as everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
