Chapter Two
I was being shaken awake. "It's back!" Willaway's voice, full of anxiety, reached me.
"What's back?" I asked him, still half asleep and completely confused. In this Humanoid form, I was just as susceptible to fatigue as they were, and the remnants of the thoughts of the Place still resonated through my subconscious awareness as a background noise. I did not immediately notice this; however.
"The Voice!" he answered, the anxiety even more evident now, slowly becoming fear.
"Voice?" I questioned, shaking off the remainder of sleep-fog; then I remembered. The Voice in the cell which had demanded something of me and threatened him. "Son of a . . ." I hissed.
As I came fully awake, I heard Varien ask, "Who are you?" A futile question. I thought, It won't answer.
"She knows." it answered.
All eyes turned to me. I stood and addressed the Voice. "You are mistaken. I have no idea who you are or what you want." My eyes narrowed to slits. "I told you that before."
"You know," It insisted again, "and you will give it to us, or they will all die slowly before your eyes one at a time until you resist no more." The threat again, this time encompassing the entire group. I growled softly at the Voice, but it had not finished. "It begins where you began."
Blink. What did that mean? "Where I began? What does that mean?" It was as much a protest as a question.
There was no answer.
"Answer me!" I shouted vainly after the Voice. "What do you mean?"
A soft moan from my right was the only answer I received. I turned to see Varien supporting a very shaky Willaway. I reached out to help him and felt a hand take a strong grip on my arm. I turned to face the owner of that hand.
Fred was staring at me with anger in his eyes. It permeated his voice as he spoke. "You've done enough."
As calmly as was possible, I pulled my arm free of his grip. "I was only trying to help." I informed him, eyes still narrowed. He had no idea whom he was tangling with, and now was so not the time to do so.
"If you really want to help, just give them what they want and get us out of here."
"It isn't that simple." I ground out with frustration building and closed my eyes. "First of all, I don't have any better idea of what they want than you do. And second, I don't even know who we're dealing with." My eyes came open then and pinned him. "And until we figure out who they are, we don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell of figuring out what they want." I wanted so badly to help, but I could not do as Fred asked. And it pained me to see Willaway hurt so for some reason I could not yet name. So I turned my eyes away from all of them. "I'm sorry." I said very softly. "If I could figure out what it is they wanted, I would do it and save your friend." I had to pause and swallow the lump in my throat before I could finish. "But I can't."
Thus saying, I walked back over to where I had been sleeping and sat down by the wall. It was all I could do not to weep for the man who was being tormented because of me. But as I leaned back against the wall, all of it washed over me again, and I soon lost myself in the comforting flow of the Others.
The One still showed me the way out, but the Others called to me. Slowly they drew me to them while the One insisted that I must find the way out. But there were many of Them and only one of Him.
Come with us. They called. We need you. You must lead us to our freedom. Come . . . come . . . come . . .
You must not listen to Them. the One responded. If you heed Their cries, your friends will perish here.
But they are dying. The Voice . . . I protested.
. . . cannot kill them. He holds only as much power over them as you allow Him. the One answered me.
What does He want? I asked.
You.
Me? Why?
Because you are powerful. With your power, He could rule this place.
What is this place?
It is a place of past memories and future dreams. It is many things to many people. To some it is Heaven. To others, it is Hell.
But what is it?
An image of a once-thriving, now barren world flashed in my mind. Where there had once been great cities and thriving populations, there was now nothing but flat, scorched rock.
We once lived above in great cities, the One told me, but our pride nearly destroyed us. In our Great War, we destroyed everything we had built, and the radiation drove us underground. Here we lived quite happily for many years until our people began to mysteriously vanish. We took our Scanners and searched all the caverns for them, but they were simply gone.
What happened to them? His story had piqued my curiosity and touched my heart.
We finally just stopped looking for them as they vanished. Our numbers grew fewer and fewer until there were none.
But how can that be? I hear you and so many Others.
We are here, but they will never see us. Our own weapons have made this place our prison. We have all sensed your power. The Voice believes he can use it to rule, and my Children believe they can use it to finally leave this place.
And you? I asked. What do you believe?
My Children are innocent. And with such power, He would destroy us. The One was silent for a moment before he continued. You must continue your journey. He only has as much power over your friends as you allow Him. Go now and save your friend. And with that, he fell silent.
I sat up quickly and looked at the party. The One's words echoed in my mind as I watched them. All were asleep except Willaway who was seated a short distance from me, in obvious pain. He had his knees curled up to his chest, his head down on them, and his arms wrapped around them. S'Lel, the feline member of the party, watched me with only one eye.
Standing, I made my silent way over to Willaway and sat down beside him. He lifted his head, turning to look at me, his eyes full of the pain he felt. I reached out and put one arm around his shoulders. He was so tired; I could see it in his eyes, in the way he moved. And the pain had taken such a hold on him. It cut through me to see him so harmed. He leaned toward me, laying his head on my shoulder; and for a moment, I simply held him like that.
Finally, I reached up, brushing his sweat-dampened hair back from his face and touching my fingers gently to his temple. I drew the pain to myself, giving him a moment's reprieve while I set up my little Surprise. At the same time, I created a shunt which would return any pain sent to Willaway to its source . . . at double strength.
The Man wants my power. Well, I'll give Him a taste of it, and we'll see if He still wants it.
Relieved of the pain, Willaway sagged, completely exhausted, against me and fell into a deep sleep. I smiled softly and leaned back against the wall, letting him sleep just like that. It was the least I could do, after all. This time, the One kept his Children muted so that I could sleep as well. My cheek rested against the top of Willaway's head, I soon drifted off as well.