Chapter 38
I woke up with eyes wide, scanning my surroundings. I was safe. There was nothing, nothing but the sprinkle of rain.
Everything flashed through my mind. The whole conversation of everything that had happened. I tried to get my mind off of what happened in my dream. What about what Gabriel said?
Immortal? How could I be immortal? Sometimes I couldn't even walk down out old corridor without stubbing my toe, my echoes of scowling, bouncing off the walls.
I looked at him. "What about you?" I'd asked. "You're not immortal right? I worry that you might…"
But he'd interrupted me, completely serious. "No, Raina. I'm not immortal. Do NOT worry about me all right?" He put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me. "You never need to worry about anyone but yourself. It is your duty to not fall under like your…" but he trailed off.
I knew what he was going to say though. Like your father…
My father. I had to, in every single way, avoid this. I knew that.
We headed off, climbing up a hill that eventually felt like the mountains. Gabriel insisted that it was merely a hill after all and that when I thought I'd seen the top,m it wasn't even a third of the way to the actual top. Just great. Just what kept me going.
When we finally did travel over-mid day, I saw it.
All the while the pain kept strengthening. I didn't show it. Couldn't show that I couldn't breathe at time,s due to the stringent pain. I geld back. It was almost too painful not to cry. I'd save that for later.
He'd notived things though. Like when I clung my arms to my sides, stiffening while we'd break or when I bit my lip to avert the stubborn cringe that I couldn't help but reveal.
"Let's take a break," I saidaftrer a while of enduring all of this.
Gabriel nodded. 'Are you hungry? I hear a river not far off."
I strainged my ears tp hear but I couldn't. My aching heart beat was thumping loud in my ears. It was as if I'd been running, my heart was thumping fast. I felt my head getting dizzy. My sight was fading and I stumbled a bit, knwing that I'd need to sit down.
'Cal,' I moaned. 'Please Cal,…I want to help. I'm coming to help you.'
No answer.
Gabriel crouched beside me. He asked something to me but I waved my hand to urge him awat. "I…m all right." I mumbled.
He looked unsure. "Do you need something to drink? To eat?" He watched me cautiously. REadng his face, I must'be looked like a wreck.
"Lay down." He said, helping me onto the soft grass. It felt cooling. I tried to focus on my breathing. My head felt hotr and a drop of sweat rolled over my temple onto the grass. I just lay there, afrid to move or even scream, something I had really wanted to release.
I managed to curl in a ball. It felt more secure ther. I think I felt more together, like I needed to hold myself to keep it that way, to keep myself falling to pieces even more than what was already lost. What was already broken.
Gabriel sat beside me, watching and waiting for a long while. The time seemed to tick by slowly.
Eventually, he got up. "Be right backj." He said and slowly walked away, brustling, the bushes behind him. He had ghone somewhere on my left and I felt more uncomfortable as his cent faded, leave me bare with only the soft breeze from the trees and the grass beneath. A cricket chirped in the distance.
The soft pad of footsteps imerged. Then I felt acloth, wet and cool on my orehead. I relaxed, as his hand lingered on ther ea moment. I moved my head to look up at Gabriel.
"Thank you," I munmbled. He nodded and then sat beside me again.
"You know something?" he asked me, picking up a rock and throwing it in the air.
I turned my head towards him. "Hm?" I said.
"I've gone over and over in my mind in why you've done all of this," he chipped a piece of bark off the tree. It swiveled to the ground.
"You come into the woods one day due to a careless want for a stroll and it changes your life. You're picked up by the gypsies and in realizing, that you're the one to save us, you're pulled into everything, realizing you have a whole other history, a whole prophecy that we wished you to rise up to., Even so, after all that's happened you had a choice you know? You couldn've just said no, thrown everything away and gone back to the life you knew."
"I know," I said. "But having all of these nightmares and everything. It's…it's just not something I could have lived with. Without knowing what they meant."
"You looked like you're barely surviving this way as well," he commented, grimacing.
I managed to laugh, despite of my condition. "Actually," I replied. "I'm not going to survive there, I'm liing here. I love it."
He smirked. "Yes, I suppose it would be like you to say that. I just can hardly believe it. Why would you prefer this to something as glorious as that?"
I knew he was thinking of my mansion back home. I breathed in heavly, "I…" I began, "I just can't live like that. Everything is too controlled..too structured..too demanding."
"Well you haven't escaped the demanding part," he said. "But I think that you've come into the opposite exctreme of the other two. Complete and utter chaos."
I smiled, though he wasn't smiling. I suddenly felt oo weak to laugh, though the cold water hlped almost numbing my thoughts. Almost. "I've always wanted an adventure."
"It's in your blood," he grinned. "You're the queen of dreams," he laughed.
I scoffed. "Or nightmares."
There was no laughter in his eyes suddenly. "Yes, well I hope not."
I sat there in an awkward silence, regretting ever saying anything.
I lay my cheek on the grass and yawned.
"We'll get ther tomorrow then," he said soothingly. The cloth, was now cold and he lifted from my face. "Sweet dreams."
And into dreams, I fell. It was both clear and colorful as I swayed through. Too good to be true though. The light faded and darkness poured in again, coming along with a voice. A voice calling for help.
"Raina," I heard Cal scream. He was crying! Ca was in trouble, I just knew it. With the screams pulsing through my head, I found myself awake, stifling the screams that were coming from my own mouth.
My heart pounded, and I scrambeled up to find Gabriel, but he was already looking at me, alarmed. "What is it?" he asked.
There were tears streaming down my face. "It's Cal," I said, scrambling to my feet. The pain in my body almost collapsed my will to stand but I had to do it. "We need to find him," I said without looking at him. "Now."
And I ran…