The Dream Walker (20 page)

Chapter
45

Alaina got out of the car and looked around. They were outside of Phoenix in a small town called Casa Grande. The sun was about to go down over the horizon, and she glanced over at Nico. His eyes would be turning silver soon.

“Let’s go,” George said, grabbing her arm. The building looked like some type of deserted warehouse. She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were holding Nico hostage by the Ford Explorer while they took her in. One of George’s lackeys produced a set of keys, and they were inside within seconds.

The heat was stifling, and a bead of sweat trickled down her cheek.
Stacks of pallets ranging from three-to six-feet high were piled everywhere, reminding her of a rat’s maze.

She was led over to a room in the far right corner of the warehouse, and George opened the door. There was nothing but a cot covered with a blue blanket. He pushed her inside and locked the door, sending her into complete darkness. Fear gripped her heart as she waited for her eyes to adjust, but it never happened. She turned and felt around for the doorknob and realized there wasn
’t any. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she slowly shuffled to where she had seen the cot. Her shin connected with the frame, sending waves of pain down her leg
.
.

She sat down on the cot. The blanket was rough under her touch, and she stretched out on top of it. It smelled musty, like it had just been pulled out of storage after many years.

She brought up her hand and held it in front of her face, unable to see it. Anxiety rose within her, and she needed to get ahold of herself, or she was going to have a straight-up panic attack. She had to keep her wits about her. A vision of drowning George with her bare hands flashed in front of her.

Taking some deep breaths, she tried to calm her mind. Her thoughts traveled back to what Nico had said, and her heart literally hurt. How could he think she would tell anyone about what she knew of his world? It bothered her so much that he thought she betrayed his trust.

She rolled over to the side and pulled her knees up to her chest. Taking more deep breaths, her tears of panic finally stopped, but the tears over what Nico had said to her didn’t.

His words shouldn
’t bother her as much as they did, but she wanted him to like her, to trust her, and up until that point, she thought he had. It had been just a short time beforehand when he said if circumstances were different, he would have liked to see where things went between them. Then his thought process definitely changed.

George. That bastard George. He had turned her life upside down and flipped it inside out. A vision of George hung from a tree, a noose making his eyes bulge played before her in the darkness.

She closed her eyes and sobbed herself to sleep.

An hour later, the door burst open, sending light crashing into the small space, her eyes aching as they tried to adjust. She couldn
’t make out who was at the door—it was just an outline of a man.

“
Get up, Alaina,” Daniel said.

Fear ripped through her again as she realized she was going to die.
“No.”

“
I’m not going to hurt you, you stupid bitch,” Daniel said, as he yanked her up from the mattress.

She stumbled out the door, her eyes watering from the onslaught of light. She was taken to another part of the building where she was told to sit down in a chair in front of a TV.

Her ankles were clasped to the feet of the chair, her arms tied behind her. Daniel grabbed a stool and sat down in front of her, blocking the television. “Now, I know what’s inside of you, and I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure you embrace it. You could be one of the greatest killers of all time, Alaina. You and I could go places and make history.”

“
Why, Daniel? Why do you care? Why are you putting so much time and energy into me?”

Daniel smiled. Again, she was struck with how normal he looked.
“You’re my pet project. I was actually just going to have George to kill you, but then I realized how valuable you had become.”

“
What do you mean?” Alaina asked. How had she become so valuable?

“
Because I believe that I can turn anyone with Colonist genes into a full-fledge killer,” Daniel said, patting her leg. “With a little urging, of course. I’m sure you’ve had some dark visions of killing George since you got here, haven’t you?”

Alaina said nothing, but wondered what the
“urging” he spoke of was going to be.

He stood up and turned on the television.

The image on the screen was dark, as if someone were filming at night. The only way Alaina knew something was about to happen was because she heard breathing and soft footsteps.

A woman lying in a bed appeared, seemingly asleep. Alaina heard the raspy breathing of whoever was filming, and her heart raced. What was this?

Suddenly, a hand reached out for the woman and gently touched her shoulder. The woman’s eyes slowly opened, and she turned and looked at the camera. Then she screamed, and a fist connected with her jaw. A knife plunged into her shoulder. The woman writhed in pain, and her attacker stuffed some sort of cloth in her mouth.

Alaina
’s mouth went dry as she realized she was watching an actual attack, not a Hollywood-produced film.

The knife plunged into the woman again, and Alaina turned away from the TV.

“Look at it!” Daniel yelled. “Look and let the feeling wash over you. That’s what you want to be! That’s what you are!”

Alaina glanced over at Daniel and saw the ash around him, then she looked backed at the TV.

Something inside of her came alive as she watched the brutal murder of the woman. It was as if two forces were fighting within her; the good and the bad were at war. A tingle of excitement welled as she felt her stomach roll, and she knew she was on the verge of becoming violently ill.

Her Colonist side was fighting her human side.

Glancing up at Daniel again, she noticed a glimmer in his eye, and a vision of him being dismembered flashed in her mind. “That’s what you are, Alaina,” he said, pointing at the screen. “You’re a killer.”

Tears stung her eyes as she looked at the screen. Maybe he was right. Maybe that
’s what she was: nothing but a worthless murderer. God knew she’d thought about killing enough in the past few hours. Where had this poor woman been slaughtered?

“
George did this the other night,” Daniel said, as if he had just read her thoughts. “It was beautiful.”

As George kept hacking away, the life drained out of the woman.

“I lost count of how many times he stabbed her,” Daniel said. “Have you been counting, Alaina?”

The screen went black, and Alaina studied the floor. Daniel lifted her chin so she was forced to look at him.

“You’ll be one of best soldiers,” Daniel said. “We’ll bring a terror to this city that they’ve never known before.”

The difference between her, George, and Daniel was that she might think violent thoughts, but if it came right down to it, she didn
’t think she had it in her to actually kill someone.

“
I’m not going to help you do anything, Daniel,”Alaina said, her throat tigh
t
.

Daniel threw his head back and laughed.
“Like I said, you’re just a side project. I’ve got bigger things to deal with right now.”

“
What?”

Daniel smiled, ignoring her question.
“I can’t wait to watch your first kill, Alaina,” he whispered, and then turned and left the room. The TV came alive again, and Alaina shut her eyes as images of a cat being killed filled the screen.

She took a deep breath and vowed that she would never, ever let the Colonist within overtake he
r.
She would never become what Daniel wanted her to become.

Never.

Chapter 46

Nico lay in the dark on the cot in his small cell in the warehouse. He
’d tried jimmying the door, as well as putting his foot through it. He didn’t know what the damn thing was made of, but he did know it wasn’t going to budge.

He had found his way over to the cot and decided he might as well try to relax and see what the next step would be.

Going over what he knew, things weren’t looking so good.

It was still up in the air on whether George was a psychopath human, or if he had Colonist DNA within him. The Saviors would have to research his family tree to find out for sure. What Nico did know was that George hadn
’t given any indication he could see the ash that Alaina could. Maybe he saw it and didn’t care.

Daniel was a Colonist, and
Alaina had confirmed that when she said she had seen the ash he dropped on more than one occasion. So that was one fact in this mess of speculation.

A Colonist would love nothing more than to get rid of the Six Saviors and anyone affiliated with them. After all, the sole purpose of the Six Saviors was to eradicate the Colonists. So, back in the basement at the church, Daniel had most likely realized what he was dealing with when the Saviors barged in and saved Alaina. No doubt George had wanted to kill Alaina then, and he wanted to kill her now.

They had most likely staked out her work and apartment until she finally showed up and noticed Nico coming and going. They weren’t dumb. If they connected the dots from the church to him being at Alaina’s, Daniel must have realized he was close to the Saviors. If Nico could haul his leg up that high, he’d kick himself in the ass.

He figured he
’d been laying in the dark for about two hours now. What he needed to do was reach Alaina. He’d tried to see if she was sleeping a while ago, but he couldn’t find her dreamscape. He hoped she was okay.

The blanket scratched his back and it smelled moldy. He cursed as he kicked off his flip-flops, and he didn
’t know if he was better off with or without them. His traction would be much better without them, but if he had to run outside, he’d be screwed. It was a chance he’d have to take.

Sitting up, pain lanced his side. He had to do something about the stab wound. He pulled off his tank top and ripped part of it into strips. He then balled the rest of it up and pressed it against the injury, taking the strips and tying them around his waist to hold it in place.

Getting horizontal again and closing his eyes, he forced his body to relax and tried to reach Alaina. She needed to know that first and foremost, he trusted her.

His mind focused, and he concentrated on barging in on Alaina
’s dreamscape.

Chapter
47

Alaina
’s whole body shook even though sleep had overtaken her. Daniel had left her in the room with the TV for about an hour and a half. At first, she had closed her eyes, but the noises were horrible, and she had looked at the TV again. Murder after murder played on the screen, and when she decided not to watch, the screams, grunts, and sounds of brutalized flesh made her imagination go into overdrive.

Frankly, she wasn’t sure what was worse: the reality playing on the TV or the images playing in her mind.

She lay in her dreamscape on the edge of the blood-red river, feeling wor
n-
out and upset. The light beneath the river was muted, and the river was slower than she’d ever seen it move, which struck her as odd.

Despite the war within her, the good versus the bad, she would not succumb to what Daniel wanted her to be. She would not allow her dark side to take over.

“Alaina!”

Surprised, she turned. Nico ran toward her. Tears stung her eyes. Of course he would show up in her dream.

“Alaina! Are you okay?”

She nodded her head and turned back to the river.

“Alaina, we need to decide how we’re going to get out of here,” he said.

How perfect. In this dream, Nico was playing her knight in shining armor.

“Nico, we’re going to die here,” she said, staring at the light.

“
No, we’re not. We’re going to get out of here.”

Alaina sighed, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest. She looked at Nico and reminded herself she was dreaming. Of course, he would say something like that in a dream. In reality, he had told her he thought she’d turned him over to a Colonist.

“Go away, Nico,” she said quietly, dipping her finger in the river and watching the blood swirl around it.

“
Alaina,” he said, getting down on his haunches next to her, “this is real. I’m here.”

Alaina looked at him, and he put his hand on her arm. He was sure persistent in this dream.

“It’s true, Alaina. It’s my . . . ability. I’m a Dream Walker.”

Alaina
’s heart skipped a beat. What if what he was saying was true? What if he really was here with her, in her dreamscape?

“
How?” she whispered.

Nico shrugged.
“It’s just something I’ve always been able to do.”

Alaina thought back to the other dream he had made an appearance in.

“First, Alaina, I said those things to you back at your apartment so that George wouldn’t think you and I were together. They want me, and I was trying to distance us in their eyes. I want to apologize, Alaina. I didn’t mean what I said at your apartment. I don’t believe that you gave me up to a Colonist. I didn’t want George to think that we were close. I trust you.”

“
You do?” she asked. Her heart soared at his words.

“
Yes. I trust you, and I care about you deeply, Alain
a.
” His hand traced the side of her face.

Heat coiled in her belly at his touch. She needed to know if the last dream she had with him was real or a product of her imagination.

“I had a dream where you . . . you were here. And . . . and we . . . ” Her cheeks warmed and she looked down at the ground.

“
I was here. I was with you. You and I made love,” he said roughly, as he lifted her chin so she had to meet his gaze. “My tongue was on your breast, your neck, and deep within you.” His hand ran down her shoulder and took her hand. “I’ve never had such an amazing experience, I’ve never felt anything so wonderful as your beautiful legs wrapped around me while I buried my myself inside you.”

He took her in his arms and stood up, holding her close. The intens
e,
sexual chemistry between them sizzled in the air, and at the same time, Alaina felt so safe in his hold. “I want to do that again, Alaina,” he said. “Except I want to do it in reality.”

She turned her head up, and his lips brushed hers. Snaking her arms around his waist, she felt his hard length press into her belly, and heat flooded her core.

“I’m so sorry, Alaina. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about dream-walking before. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.”

A small spark of anger came and went. Yes, he should have told her that he was invading her dreams, but now she realized the feelings they shared during the dream were real. No, he shouldn
’t have done it, but looking at him, his face filled with concern and caring, she couldn’t stay mad.

“
It’s okay, Nico,” she said, touching the side of his face.

“
Are you sure you aren’t angry at me for invading your dreams?”

“
No,” she said, and squeezed his hand.

“
No you aren’t sure, or no you’re not angry?”

She smiled and brushed a lock of hair back behind his ear.
“I’m not angry.”

“
I want us to be together when this is all over,” he said.

“
How do I know this is all real?” Alaina said, still holding on to that kernel of doubt. Anything could happen in dreams, and right now, this was going too damn well.

Nico shrugged and looked around. Alaina noted the white light under the red river had grown brighte
r
.

“
I know,” he said, smiling. He pulled up his shirt, revealing the tattoo on his chest that looked like a closed eye. “When we’re in reality, you look for it. When you see it, you’ll know it’s real.”

“
Okay,” she said.

“
Good. Now let’s figure out how the hell we’re going to get out of here,” Nico said.