5
I lost my train of thought as Dave scooped me up, and carried me in the back along with the supplies Zach brought along. He pushed my white hair out of my face, and laid Zach's jacket on my shivering body.
Earlier he had fed me some painkillers, and poured the alcohol on my wound, causing me to let out one last great big cry of excruciating pain.
"I know, I know," He'd told me. "It beats infection, trust me."
He and Zach had bandaged up the wound, while I had lain motionless on the asphalt, in my stupid skimpy bedclothes. Just that thought got me to realize that I wasn't waking up any time soon.
"What was that?" Zach asked. Dave had shut the door, and the two were standing outside the Impala discussing what had just taken place.
"I have no freaking clue, Zach." Dave told him gravely. "I've never seen anything like it."
After a slight pause, one of the brothers took a deep breath and leaned against the car.
"We better get out of here quickly, huh?" Zach said.
"Yea, if we don't want to see you turn into a cannibal, we better get the hell out of here now." Dave responded. They climbed into the car as Dave started it up. "It's a good thing we have Ella around." He said letting out a sigh of relief. "She'll probably know how to cure you."
"Its just a matter of getting to Bobby's in time." Zach added.
"Right." Dave said shifting gears and driving out of the parking lot of Shop 'n' Save.
We continued driving on for hours, while I occasionally dozed off. I found it a little difficult because my shoulder was still so sore from whatever had happened before, but I was so exhausted from that whole ordeal, I couldn't help but rest as much as possible.
I was growing somewhat frustrated. How could I be dreaming, yet have the ability to feel tired, or even fall asleep in my dream? It was like the mother of all paradoxes. Not to mention the blasphemous pain I had been brutally inflicted with. It was like Dave said; how could I feel if I was just dreaming?
But I was dreaming. I mean that was obvious. Otherwise the Savage brothers were real (which would have been impossible) and so was everything they hunted down, as well as everything they experienced. (Again. Impossible.)
What was going on?
I just wanted to wake up already!
When I did finally open my eyes, the sun was on its way up, and I found myself in a bed, surrounded by dusty bookshelves, and the scent of mothballs and cheese. Yuck. I was definitely displeased with these unfamiliar surroundings, and surprised that the brothers had a person who would be willing to take a total stranger into their home. Then I remembered their conversation the night before, about making it to Bobby's.
Bobby!
In excitement I leapt out of the bed, receiving a vicious reminder about my still healing shoulder. I had to grip the bedpost for support to keep myself from falling over. After waiting for the soreness to alleviate, I found a large flannel shirt and used it to cover myself up. I picked up Zach's jacket that was still sprawled on the bed, and carried it with me downstairs.
I heard faint voices and slowly tiptoed my way to the kitchen, which seemed to be their source, the strong smell of coffee also taking a part in drawing me in. I slowed my pace as the voices became clearer.
"I don't know how else to tell it to you boys," Bobby's thick accent tried to explain. "She's not from here."
"Define 'here'," Dave insisted. "Because I'm getting a whole alien vibe from this explanation."
"She's not alien," Bobby said sternly.
"Then what is she?" Zach wondered. "If she's not a zombie, ghost, demon, vampire, or even alien, what the hell is she?"
"Uhm," I said making myself known.
"Well, whatever I have to say is not gonna make much sense to you boys at first." Bobby continued on without taking any notice to me.
Both Zach and Dave on the other hand, straightened themselves up, nodding in my direction, somehow at least acknowledging my presence.
"Good morning, guys" I greeted to everyone.
"The real question you ought to be askin' yourselves," Bobby again continued on, "is what the hell are you…to her?"
"Bobby," Zach muttered.
"What?" He asked. "Look, just listen for a minute-"
"Bobby, she's here." Dave said.
Immediately Bobby's face changed as he looked around like a blind man.
"Hi!" I said waving to him with a cheery smile on my face. Gosh this was exciting.
"How'd you sleep?" Bobby asked, seemingly talking to the air, while Dave kept trying to shove him around to face me.
"This is really exciting," I proclaimed, making my way to Bobby. "I mean I just love you. You are so badass, and awesome, and I have never had so much respect for a character from a book or a TV show in my entire life and I just wanted to say-"
"Whoa, lady. You're wasting your breath," Dave interrupted. "He can't hear you."
I made a face.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He can't hear or…see you," Dave told me.
"It's true," Bobby said to the wall.
"Bobby she's right in front of you." Dave mumbled. Bobby adjusted himself to face me, but it was obvious that he still couldn't see me.
"Right, well it is true," he said.
"We brought you here last night," Zach told me. "And we told Bobby that we need his help to heal you, and you know, figure out what happened, but he kept saying he didn't know how to heal something he couldn't see. Whenever you talked, he couldn't hear either."
"Do we know why that is?" I asked.
"Not really," Zach said. "But we're working on it."
This made since all of a sudden. No wonder those zombies weren't attacking me. They couldn't see me.
"Bobby's got a theory." Dave added.
"Great," I said with a smile. "Let's hear it."
I waited for a bit, until Dave nudged Bobby.
"Bobby, what's your theory?" Dave asked annoyed Bobby hadn't already picked up on the flow of the conversation.
"Oh, right, well," Bobby said making his way towards his books. "She says this is a TV show right?"
"Mhm," Zach replied.
"Best TV show ever." I added, receiving looks from Dave and Zach.
"But she claims she's here because she's dreamin'." Bobby said.
"Right." Dave responded.
"We all know that she isn't, but the things she knows about us are things we don't even know." Bobby explained.
"Like the herb for the zombie bite." Zach pointed out.
"Precisely." Bobby said.
"Whoa, wait." I spoke out. I was alarmed about what I just heard. "What herb?"
"Hang on a sec, Bobby." Dave told him before he could continue. "You don't remember, Ella?"
I shook my head in response.
"Well, when Zach got bitten, I kept bugging you about that cure until you gave me an answer." Dave explained. "You mentioned some purple herb that you remembered from this…episode. So we found out what it was, where it grew, locked Zachie up until we could find it, and then gave it to him when we did."
I raised my eyebrows, astonished at the fact that I had absolutely no recollection of these events.
"You were out for a while." Dave explained. "And we don't really sleep much."
"Yea," I replied, "I know."
"Can I continue?" Bobby asked, Dave gesturing to him that he could. "Well… I guess the first part of the punch line would be that this is all really a TV show to her."
"What, so you're saying she's not delusional?" Dave conjectured with doubt.
"That's exactly what I'm sayin'." Bobby told them, while both brothers looked at each other, befuddled. "My theory is, that where she's from, there is a TV show about us. About what we do."
"You mean hunting?" Dave asked.
"Yea, I mean huntin'." Bobby replied.
"It's not just hunting." I said. "There are your friends, girlfriends, and there was a huge ordeal with that zombie bite Zach got. Almost a whole episode."
"You watch our lives?" Zach asked in bewilderment.
"What'd she say?" Bobby wanted to know.
"She says it's not just a show about hunting," Zach explained. "She watches pretty much whatever we do."
"So when you say girlfriends," Dave wondered "does that mean you see us-"
"Yes." I replied before he could complete the thought.
"That's embarrassing." Dave muttered to himself.
"Kind of scarring considering I have a problem with all the girls you've taken home." I told him, folding my arms.
"Well, excuse me. Next time I'll ask for your approval." Dave teased.
"Anyway," Bobby continued. "Where she's from, I'm guessin' we are all just actors in a television series, and that's why she thinks she's dreamin'."
"I am dreaming!" I elucidated… for probably the hundredth time.
"Hang on there, princess," Dave snapped holding up a hand for me to shut up. "You keep saying 'where she comes from', 'in her world', and all of that other stuff." Dave complained to Bobby. "I'm still getting this whole alien vibe."
Bobby chuckled to himself, and picked up the book he had previously been reading from.
"Well you boys might want to grab yourselves a seat for this," He warned. "Because what I'm about to tell you, it ain't…pretty."
"Why? What is she?" Zach inquired.
"Human," I muttered to myself.
"She's human," Bobby started.
"Hah!" I exclaimed.
"But she's not from this universe." He clarified.
"Wait," I stopped. "What?"
"So this is some alien mojo?" Dave nagged.
"No." Bobby retorted.
"Then what?" Zach wondered.
"It's what I said. She's from a different universe."
"No!" I cried.
"Ella-" Dave tried
"Nooooooooo!" I yelled childishly, taking both him and Zach by surprise. "I am from this universe! I am from planet Earth, of the Solar System in the damn, Milky Way, and that is about the extent of my astrological knowledge! But I am from here! I mean it's the damn universe for crying out loud! Where else could I be from?" I cried. "And I am just dreaming!" I reiterated.
"She's not taking this well, Bobby." Dave muttered to his friend. "She insists that she's from this universe, and that this is all a dream."
"Well, can you show her the book, and read her the part where it tells her that she's wrong?" He replied shoving the giant text in Dave's arms, as he lugged it over to me.
"Okay, Cru Ella," Dave started off. "It says here, that there are five doors in the Great Realm that lead a person to some dreamlike world. 'The world in which the traveler lands mimics that of his own, and he is sent there on a specific quest which he himself must learn along the way. When his task is complete, he is transported back to his world through the door he first entered'." Dave looked up once completing the passage.
"Keep readin'," Bobby urged. Dave rolled his eyes and went back to the book to find his place.
"'The doors initiate a phase in the travelers quest, and-'"
"Not that." Bobby told him. "Skip the whole phase thing."
"Yes sir." Dave said reading his way down. "First door phase one, second door phase two," he began muttering to himself. "Third door phase three," He turned the page. "Fourth door, phase-" Upon looking at the page Dave stopped, his face completely changed.
"What is it?" I questioned.
"Zachie, come take a look at this." Dave told his brother without lifting his eyes off the page.
Zach made a face but walked over to his brother and peered down to see the page. His expression dropped as well.
"Look familiar?" Dave said.
"What is it?" I nagged.
Dave turned the book vertical and faced it towards me.
"You see that?" Dave pointed to a sketch of a very realistic looking feather encircled with symbols engraved on a ring, its size being that of a fifty-cent coin.
"It's very pretty, what is it?" I asked.
"It's what's been burned onto your shoulder."