A/N: Okay, so this chapter may be a bit confusing. There is a LOT of symbolism and parallels from the previous chapters in this one. All of what happens here is what Lucas sees after the events in chapter 1. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Never owned it. Never have, never will

*BANG*

Lucas blinked a few times as he looked at his surroundings. He wasn't quite sure where he was, but that didn't matter. The scenery here was beautiful. He found himself standing in the middle of a field of tall grass, with swaying trees as the breeze blew surrounding it several hundred yards away on each side. The loud noise he heard when he entered this world, whatever it was, seemed as if it was close by, but he couldn't find anything that would cause such a noise.

After what seemed to be a few moments, a few water droplets began to fall from the clouded sky above. Soon, a steady rain began to fall, soaking through Lucas' shirt. Lucas found himself smiling. It wasn't a cold rain like he had expected; it was a warm summer rain, like the ones he enjoyed walking in with Riley. How he wished she was there with him to enjoy this place.

A soft whinny came from behind him. Lucas turned around, rubbing the back of his neck in confusion, and he saw where the noise came from. Joy, his palomino, was standing a few paces away. A huge smile came over Lucas' lips as he walked over towards his horse. He placed a hand on the horse's withers and felt its soft coat underneath his fingertips. Lucas seemed to float as he brought himself up on Joy's back. He closed his eyes and smiled. It had been a great long while since he was sitting atop of a horse bareback. Far too long, Lucas thought to himself.

He clicked his tongue and squeezed his legs into the horse's side and they headed off further into the field. The ride felt strange to him. Joy's gait was far too smooth. To him, it felt more like a Tennessee Walker's gait than Joy's, but even then…this gait was far smoother than a Walker's would be. Right now that didn't matter to him. All that mattered was riding on horseback once again.

Another soft sound reached Lucas' ears, but it was too soft for him to determine what it was, as if it was quite a ways away. He pressed his heels into Joy's side, urging her to quicken the pace. Despite covering more ground, they didn't seem to be getting closer to the sound. Lucas brought Joy to a stop and listened closely, rubbing the back of his neck while waiting for the sound to reach his ears again. When it did come, he realized it was several sounds merged together, much of which he couldn't determine. But when he focused on a different part of it, he raised an eyebrow. It was the sound of a young lady crying. He knew that cry.

"Riley?"

Lucas wrapped his jacket tighter around him, trying to control the shivering that came when the colder rain came pouring down on him. The rain matted down his hair, and poured off his face in small streams. He dropped down to the ground and curled himself into a ball, trying to use his core body heat to keep himself warm, but it didn't seem work. The shivering continued to get worse. Lucas knew that he should try and shelter himself somehow from this rain, but no matter how hard he tried to reach the trees surrounding the field, the ceased to come any closer. It was as if he was running in place, or the trees moved away as he moved tried to get closer to them. Lightning cracked across the sky, followed by a rolling thunder clap that sounded rather weak, as if it was trying to call for help because it wasn't strong enough. More thunder echoed off the trees, but Lucas didn't notice any more lightning, which he found rather odd. Sure it was possible, but the storm appeared to be directly over him. After a few minutes, the rain gradually lightened up, and for the first time since he appeared here, the sun peaked through the clouds, sending great needed warmth through Lucas' body.

He looked around him. The grass was suddenly dry, and the storm clouds had disappeared. It appeared as if the storm never came through. Lucas stretched out and lay back in the grass, clasping his hands and placing them behind his head. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The air here was sweet and pleasant, like the smell of fresh cut hay, and the sweetness of it lulled him to sleep.

Lucas didn't know how long he had been sleeping, but the sound of someone's soft crying woke him. He propped himself up and looked around. A few dozen yards away stood Riley, wiping away the tears that were slowly falling down her face. Lucas stood up and walked over towards her. Riley made eye contact with him, and instead of smiling like he thought she would, the tears continued to fall.

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Riley? Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked as he began to wipe away the tears covering her cheeks.

"Please wake up…"she whispered.

Lucas took a step back and raised an eyebrow. She was talking to him as if he couldn't hear her. "What?"

Riley wiped her face again. "Please wake up…I can't do this anymore."

He rubbed the back of his neck and thought out loud. "Wake up? What is she talking about? I'm right—"

Everything that happened before he entered this world rushed back into his mind. The bookstore, the shooter, him going out to see what happened and to protect Riley from whatever was there…

Lucas' eyes grew wide as he remembered what happened next.

…him turning around, another loud noise, and him falling to the ground.

"Riley what are you saying? Where am I?"

Riley inhaled deeply and tried to keep her voice steady. "This life would kill me if I didn't have you," she replied as she covered her face with her hands.

Lucas' eyes fluttered open.

A/N #2: Bit of a cliffhanger there for you ;) If anyone has any questions on the symbolism and parallels, feel free to ask! I know it may be a bit confusing. Also if you could leave a review on your way out that would be great! Now that I'm going to have one test out of the way, I'm hoping that I'll have some more time to write, but I still can't make any promises thanks to the crazy life of college. Until next time :)