Sleep Tight, page 34
“I’m not mad.” He said again more calmly. “I’m just giving you what you want. You clearly made your choice. But don’t expect me to stick around to watch it.”
“Elijah I---”
“I just hope he treats you like you’re the only light in this dark place Ava. Because that’s what you are.” He stopped to face me. “I would give anything to be the one in your light. But it's not up to me. Just please don’t make me watch you be happy with someone other than me.”
He walked off while I stood there gawking at him. My heart pounded. My ears were ringing. The sun was close to setting over the mountains. Orange, purple and pink coated the sky.
Then those colors started to move. Towards me.
The ringing in my ears wasn’t stopping and I realized Elijah’s words weren’t the only reason for it.
The orange, purple and pink waves floated down from the sky and wrapped around my body, cocooning me in. No one else seemed to notice what was happening. And then suddenly no one was around me anymore. I was alone with the colors of the sky dancing around me. They pushed away and expanded around me until I saw the hint of something small ahead of me.
I squinted my eyes and carefully took a step forward. Then another. I could make out the shape now. It was a crescent moon, winking at me ahead.
A soft voice reached me, but I couldn’t make out what it was saying. I took another step. I felt no fear. Just curiosity.
“What are you saying?” I asked.
Go away.
Go.
Away.
Death.
PLEASE!
The last word blew into me and pushed me out from the cocoon of colors.
I landed on my back, gasping for air. What was that? What just happened? A million thoughts were racing through my head, I didn’t even realize I was being surrounded, concerned faces watching me from above.
“What happened? Are you okay?” Elijah’s face appeared in front of me, his eyes darting up and down my body as he extended his hand to help me up.
I looked around but the sky was now back to normal. No dancing colors. No voice.
“You didn’t see that?”
His eyebrows lifted as he looked around trying to find what I was talking about.
“I don’t see---”
Kenji nearly ran into me as he rushed to be by my side. His eyes already trained on Elijah’s hand still holding mines.
“Are you okay? What happened?” His gaze landed on my face accessing me.
It was too crowded now. Everyone else had already walked away content with Elijah helping me, but I felt sandwiched between Kenji and Elijah now.
I backed away from them both as I brushed the dirt and grass off my pants.
“I’m okay I just slipped and fell that’s all.” I looked to Elijah who had one dark eyebrow raised in a question but I knew he wouldn’t ask me anything else.
We made camp for the night after that. Kenji stayed by his uncle knowing I didn’t want him sleeping next to me. I then made sure Jesse was nearby and settled.
Olivia’s sleeping bag was to my right with Sky to my left. I giggled as I caught Olivia and Caleb passing each other both staring the other down.
“Night Rubia.” Caleb called out to her.
“Nighty night little devil.” Olivia replied sweetly.
Caleb only winked at her which infuriated Olivia even more. But it made me and Sky laugh.
“He is just the worst I swear.” Olivia whipped her head towards us. “Stop laughing it will only encourage him.”
“I’m sorry but whatever is going on between you guys is very entertaining.” I grinned at her.
“And look at his face,” Sky discreetly pointed out. “He is clearly enjoying himself. It’s like he just discovered his new favorite hobby. Tormenting you.”
“And please don’t get mad at me but I’m here for it.”
Olivia pushed at my arm, and I was practically flung down on my side, my body wasn’t ready for that.
We all laughed so hard everyone started to stare at us wondering what was so funny. It was nice to just forget about the reason why we were there, even just for a couple of seconds.
It was back. That voice. Soft but strong.
I was back inside the colors. So many colors. White, purple, pink, blue, orange. They glittered and sparked everywhere.
My hand on instinct reached out. I pushed at the colors, and they moved, they were soft as silk and warm to the touch. I poked at a blue swirl near my head, and it burst out like a fire work, a million little lights softly exploding in my face before returning to its shape. I turned and poked at a purple swirl, and it did the same.
Finally. You’re here.
The voice came from in front of me. But all I saw was a huge shining moon. It was a brilliant light grey and white.
“Hello?”
I’m here.
“Where are you? I don’t see you.”
You’re looking right at me. I am the spirit of the moon. I gave a small piece of myself to your ancestors.
“Holy-- sorry I won’t say what I was about to say.” I was talking to the moon. It was alive.
“I have so many questions.”
I know you do but we don’t have much time. I have been trying to reach you for a very long time now, but you were always blocked off to me. There’s no time to waste, I don’t know how long we have before you leave.
You must go back.
You can’t keep going.
“But why?”
You don’t know what you are starting. It is a trap. You will fail.
“But my friends are out there. My brother. My mom. I have to keep going.”
I thought for a second about its words. “What makes you say we will fail? What do you know?”
I know that only darkness is waiting for you. I see you drowning in a sea of black. Of misery and hate. That is all I see.
“Are you sure?” It was getting hard to breath. It had to be mistaken.
As if reading my mind, it answered back: I am never mistaken.
Leave your loved ones where they are. If you keep going you will be ending the Leki’s. The linage I started will be consumed by shadow and disappear forever.
I could feel myself being pulled away from here. I resisted and looked at the moon one last time.
You have been warned little one. Go back.
“I can’t. I have to save my family.”
Then this will be the end for everyone.
My body flew up from my sleeping bag, I took one big breath, my hands reaching out to the ground.
Everyone around me was sleeping, loud and soft snores drifting throughout the air.
I slowly laid back down. I wish I could just ignore what just happened. Brush it off as just a dream. But I knew better. And as much as I would like to listen to the warning, there was no way I would. I had to see this through myself.
Even if it does kill me.
The buzz of adrenaline was surrounding me.
“Are you sure this is it Arlo?” Cass asked once again.
Arlo spat on the ground, inches from Cass's feet. “I already said this was the place. I don’t like repeating myself.”
Mateo, who was holding Arlo’s arm, roughly grabbed his shirt. “If we want you to repeat yourself, you're going to do it with a smile, or I’ll rip your arm off.”
“I’d love to see that.” Olivia mumbled.
Mateo grinned. “Your wish is my command my lady.” In a split second he covered Arlo's mouth with one hand while he pulled with the other.
Arlo groaned and pushed against his hand and then his arm was hanging in a way it shouldn’t be. Mateo kept his hand covering his mouth, muffling his screams.
“I just pulled your arm out of your socket a little bit. Stop crying I can put it back.” He pushed into Arlo snapping it back into place. “See all better.”
“I do feel better.” Olivia replied.
Cass coughed into his hand. “That was unnecessary,” he turned to Olivia and his eyes softened. “But satisfying too.”
I think everyone who cared about Olivia would agree that he deserved that.
Cass called out for everyone to gather around. We had finally made it to the hideout. Everyone was anxious to get inside and rescue their loved ones, their friends. But we had to go about this right. We already knew this was a trap, but we would go in anyways.
Arlo told Cass that the men who helped them were camped outside the main entrance to the mountain cave.
Cass pointed to Blake, Elijah and another group huddled close by. “All of you are with me. We’ll take out the men in the front while the others go through the back.”
“But--” Both Blake and Elijah started.
“Nope. Don’t start. I know you guys want to go in with everyone else but in order to help everyone else we need to subdue those men first, give them a distraction.”
Both clenched their fists, their jaws ticked but they stayed quiet. I may have been imagining but Elijah’s eyes seemed to have glanced at me just for a second before moving back to the ground.
“Get your guns ready.” Cass instructed.
Another group would stay behind to keep watch over Arlo and Rosa.
Kenji was put into another group that would go off into another entrance. He looked at me as if he wanted to say something. Clarissa bumped him in the shoulder and nudged him along.
After Cass split everyone else into their teams we headed out. In my team was Olivia, Sky, Wendy, Jesse, Mateo and Mason. After seeing Mateo pull Arlo’s arm out, I was glad to have him with us.
We moved to walk into what Arlo claimed was a back entrance. It was low and dark but even Mateo and Mason who were the biggest in the group would be able to fit inside. I took one last look behind me as everyone else started to go in. Elijah was watching me, his eyes focused on me only. My stomach did a flip as I quickly turned away and made my way in.
There was something odd about walking into a dark cave in a mountain and feeling...calm and anxious.
Each person was grabbing onto the person in front of them, so we didn’t get lost. Once we could finally stand up and the cave widened, we let go.
Jesse made a faint ball of light in his hands along with everyone else. I was the only one who didn’t have one. Who couldn’t make one.
He caught me staring at his hand. Through the soft glow of the light, I saw sympathy on his face. “Stay close.” He followed the rest of the group with me close behind him.
We had no idea where we were going or what was waiting for us. With each step we took anything could come out at us and attack. Our enemy was camouflaged in this cave, and we were coming in blind. They had the upper hand right now.
The further we got into the cave the colder it got. I wrapped my jacket tighter around my body. I was the only one who was affected by the cold. Everyone else had their light and that was keeping them warmer than I was right now.
The dream I had was still in mind. Would I be dying today? Would we lose this war right now? I didn’t have the guts to tell anyone about what happened. But right now, I was having a hard time not blurting it out, especially to Jesse. It’s always been so easy to talk to my brother about anything.
“Do you think mom and Daniel are here? I don’t trust Arlo.” Jesse whispered.
“I know. I don’t either but we have no other choice. But I’m sure they are here. I can feel it in my gut.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I nudged him. “Hey, when has my gut ever been wrong? Never. Trust my woman intuition.”
“Yeah, yeah. I guess you’re right.” His smile fell away as he looked ahead. “What the?”
I turned to see what he was looking at.
“Jesse. Where is everyone?”
My heart started to race as we looked around. Everyone was gone. Olivia, Wendy, Mateo, Mason and Sky had all just disappeared. We were alone.
“They were just right here. This makes no sense.” Jesse began circling around, his light bouncing shadows across the walls. “What’s happening?”
I reached for Jesse, stopping his frantic pacing. “This is it. They know we're here and are messing with us. We need to stay sharp if we want to beat them.”
Jesse nodded, his curls bouncing around.
“You need a haircut.” I ruffled his hair.
He rolled his eyes. “That’s what you're thinking of right now?”
“Better than thinking of death.” I muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing let's just keep going. We have to find mom and Daniel.”
We moved on ahead. Who knew how the Kryps had managed to separate us so quickly. But it only worried me more. I was out of my league here.
We made a sharp right and then right there in front of us in a cage. Mom and Daniel huddled together.
Jesse moved but I stopped him. “Wait.” I hissed. “This could be a trap. You know that. This is way too easy.”
“I don’t care.” He pushed past me and bent down in front of their cage. I kept a watchful eye as I bent beside him.
“Mom? Daniel?” Jesse whispered. He took out his pocketknife and started to pick at the lock.
“Mom?” I said a little louder. She groaned and then slowly opened her eyes. She looked so skinny. She and Daniel were both dirty, both with scratches and bruises.
Daniel opened his eyes next. Both just stared at us for a moment. Their faces confused.
“Is this another trick?” Daniel rasped out. “I won’t fall for it this time. Get away!”
I gripped the cage. “Hey, it’s not a trick, it's us. I promise.”
The lock popped open just then and we rushed to pull the door open. I put one foot inside and reached out my hand. “Grab my hand, Daniel. It's me.”
He squinted his eyes at me as if somehow that would help him see me better and determine if it really was me. His hand slowly lifted and once it touched my hand his eyes widened, and he squeezed my hand. I pulled him into a hug, his arms crushing me as he held on.
When we let go, I passed him on to Jesse and reached for mom next. She was in much worse shape than Daniel. She had been here for weeks. Tears were filling my eyes, I blinked rapidly trying to get rid of them before she saw.
She was looking at me like she didn’t believe it was me. As if she was in a dream. She gave me a small smile. I reached for her hand. Her now thin fingers curled around mine, my breath caught at how cold they were.
As I pulled her out of the cage she stumbled, I caught her and held on.
“Ava?” Her voice was muffled by my hair. “It’s you. It’s my baby.”
“Yeah, mom it's me. I’m here.” My voice cracked. She was so much thinner. It was such a contrast to her plump figure. I loved hugging her. When I was little, I used to tell her that it was like hugging a teddy bear. She would only laugh when I said that.
“I’m so sorry mom. I should have gotten to you sooner.”
“You’re here now.”
“Yeah, I am. I’m going to get you home.”
Jesse held mom for a moment too while I checked on Daniel. “How are you feeling?”
He grimaced as he took a step. “Like I need a shower. But I can’t complain.” He glanced at mom. “She’s been through this for much longer.”
“Let's get you guys out of here.”
“Yeah, please do. How did you guys find us?”
I went to grab his arm to help him, but he shooed me away, so I went to mom’s left side while Jesse held her right. “It’s a long story. We’ll tell you when we get back. Right now, let's focus on getting out of here.”
“We’ve only just reunited though. Why would you want to leave?” A familiar low voice echoed across the cavern.
Jesse went completely still. “I know that voice.”
“Of course you do.” A man stepped out in front of us, but he stayed in shadow.
My neck hairs stood up. My stomach pitched. “Who are you?”
“You know exactly who I am.” His shadows moved away revealing his face. “My mariposa.”
The contents of my stomach were threating to come up. My skin turned so cold that my hands stiffened.
There was only one person who called me that. Only one man who used to call me that.
My father.
He was right here in front of me. Alive. Or as alive as someone could look.
The green eyes I shared with him were now... murky. No longer shining. Instead, they were dark, as he stepped closer, I saw wisps of smoke spiraling in his eyes. He no longer looked as strong as I remembered him, his torn and filthy clothes now sagged on his body. His face, devoid of emotion, was gaunt.
Here he was in front of me, and he couldn’t look more like a stranger.
“Impossible.” Daniel breathed.
“No,” he looked at Daniel. “Anything is possible when you side with the right side.”
He took a step towards us.
“Stop,” I rushed out. “Just stop. Please.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Are you not happy to see me mariposa?”
I shook my head. “I’m not even sure if what I’m seeing is true.”
“This is a shock to you. I know. But I’m here. What you're seeing is not a trick.”
“Gabriel?” Mom’s face was clearing up, her eyes widening as she stared at the ghost of her dead husband.
Dad turned his lips up into what was meant to be a smile. It only made him look more haunting. “My love.”
Mom’s lips trembled and her legs gave out, we quickly held on to her.
“How? How are you here?”
“I’ve been waiting for years to finally reveal myself to you. I am here because I chose the right side of history. I am finally free.”
He took another step towards us. “You can be free too. Free from the shackles of what your kind claim is the light.”
“Your kind?” My head was spinning. “They are your kind too dad. They always have been.”
“No!” His voice boomed. “They are no longer my kind. I spit on the name Leki. When I lost my way during that hike, I had no idea that I was actually being found. They freed me mariposa. Once they joined me, I was so much stronger than I ever was. Then I ever could be.”
“Once they joined you?” Daniel asked.
