The Holes in our Hearts
Chapter 3: A Battle of Dreams
Mai was floating in darkness. She couldn't see anything: just the darkness. There was nothing to touch, no sound to hear, nothing to smell or taste, and nothing to look at. There was just the darkness. So, floating amongst the darkness, Mai waited. She didn't think or try to solve any problems. What was the point anyway if she was just left in darkness?
Then, ever so softly, a voice began calling to Mai. "Mai, please, you have to listen. Please come back to me." That voice, one Mai thought she should be familiar with, repeated the line like a mantra until it consumed Mai's dark little world. It seemed like the words would never stop. But Mai didn't move to find the source of the words. Instead she waited. Nothing else could happen to cause her pain if she just waited.
Then a flash of bright light appeared. Out of its cascading brilliance a hand reached out and grabbed hold of Mai. It pulled her out of the darkness and into a never ending maze of sensations. Suddenly there was so much to look at and so many things Mai realized she couldn't do if she just sat around waiting. Looking around she finally set eyes on the one who had pulled her from the darkness. She was greeted by the sight of a young man clad all in black with a far-away look in his eyes. "Naru!" Mai called, excited to see him again. But as the boy turned she could tell that it was not the twin she was always looking for. Rather, it was Gene.
"Oops, sorry Gene."
"It's okay Mai. Are you alright now? I was looking for you for so long. You feel asleep almost a day ago and where stuck in the darkness ever since"
"I was?" Mai whispered. She knew that the time she had spent in the darkness had felt like a long time but she had thought it was just an hour not a full day.
"Yeah. Mai, something's going on. This isn't just the world of the spirits anymore. There is something powerful that has come. I was only barely able to get you out of its clutches. You have to listen to me. I don't know what this thing is, but it doesn't want me to show you anything about the case that idiot scientist brother of mine has taken. You don't even remember the dream from last time do you?"
"No Gene, I don't. It's really starting to worry me. The only thing I can remember is one word. Empty." As soon as the word left Mai's lips, the world around the two began to shake. The spiritual pressure that was enveloping was almost unbearable. It forced Mai and Gene both to their knees until the point where they could hardly move.
"Mai, whatever is blocking your memories is coming. You have to wake up now! Listen carefully, you can't come here anymore. At least not until I know what this is. Tell Naru you are not to be left alone under any circumstances! Do you understand?"
Mai was barely able to nod her understanding before she felt the familiar tug back into consciousness. Her last sight was of Gene forcing himself up into a warrior's stance as he turned to face the thing that had blocked her memories from her.
"She's been out almost a full day Noll, shouldn't we take her to the hospital."
"Why do that Lin? Can't you tell she's already waking up?"
Mai slowly pried open her eyes despite the fact that they felt like they had been cemented shut. As she stirred she looked around and saw she was on the couch in the lobby of SPR. A small groan escaped her as she forced herself to sit up until she was looking into two very blue and very concerned eyes.
"Are you alright Mai?" Naru asked. Was it Mai's imagination or did he look just the tiniest bit relieved?
"Naru. What happened? The last thing I remember I was cleaning up in the kitchen."
"We were hoping you could tell us. You never answered when we called so we went to check on you. We found you asleep in the kitchen. The only problem was that we couldn't wake you up for anything in the world. Then about ten minutes ago you started hollering. Screaming over and over again, "It's empty. Empty. EMPTY!" That's when we started to think it wasn't just your natural cat napping nature coming out in full force."
"I don't know. Wait. I saw something. Another dream. I had one last night too, but I can't remember what it was about. The only thing I know is that word. It's everywhere…" Mai let her sentence fade away as she tried to remember what her last dream was about.
Naru and Lin watched as Mai closed her eyes trying to remember. All of a sudden the color faded out of her face. Mai saw a quick snippet of her dream with Gene.
"Naru, Gene said I can't go see him anymore. You have to make sure that I'm never alone!"
It was only after that when Mai realized she had just screamed that at him. Now Naru was looking at her with a great amount of concern. Either that or Mai was or delusional than she already thought.
"Okay Mai. It's obvious this has something to do with our new case. The dreams and your amnesia only started after I accepted it. John should be arriving here in Japan by tomorrow. After that, the rest of the team will join us within the week. We are scheduled to meet the client in a week. I had to reschedule the first meeting since you collapsed."
"Alright Naru, in the mean time what am I going to do? According to Gene I can't be left alone. I live alone Naru!"
"You will come stay with me. Lin is currently experiencing plumbing issues."
Mai could feel her cheeks turning red at the thought of being alone in an apartment with her boss. "Are you sure Naru? I wouldn't want to impose on you."
"Don't be ridiculous Mai. If Gene says you can't be left alone then so be it. Besides, I fully expect you to be on call to make tea whenever it is needed while you are staying with me." With that Naru walked back into his office with a smirk lightly playing across his features at the thought of having access to the tea he loved so much twenty-four hours a day seven days a week.