The Truth Behind Those Eyes

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nikki opened her eyes and peered through the darkness, straining to see anything but pitch black.

"Don't look too hard, you won't like what you see." A low, soft voice, spoke kindly.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

The words appeared out of nowhere. She'd been thinking them and then, there they were. She'd thought them aloud without uttering a single letter.

"A concerned bystander."

"Oh." Again, a thought had popped into existence without the use of her mouth. "This can't be real. I must be dead. Am I dead?"

"No."

"I should be. I jumped. I remember jumping."

"Yes, you jumped. We caught you. Your Guardian failed."

Three thoughts ran simultaneously through her mind. We? Josh? Where am I?

"We are Unus. We watch your world and wait. The reign of humanity is almost over. The end is very close."

"Oh. This can't be good," she thought calmly.

"Josh was supposed to save you from everything, yourself included. He was unable to fulfill his role."

Through the dream like confusion, Nikki's heart thudded at the reminder of Josh.

"No. It was my choice, he tried but--"

"He failed."

"No!" She wouldn't let them pin this on Josh. Who ever they were, she would not allow them to blame the one person who had done all he could to protect her. Her mind ambled along at a frustrating speed. There was something important that Nikki was supposed to be doing; something significant but what ever it was danced just out of reach of her conscious thoughts.  She brushed the feeling aside and looked around. Everywhere her eyes roamed was black.

"It's very dark." She was growing accustomed to her thoughts blurting out, uncensored.

"Not when you open your eyes."

Nikki thought about this. "My eyes are open."

"No, your eyes are closed. They should remain closed. You would not like this world."

Again she considered what she was being told. "This world?"

"Yes. You are in our world now. It is not a place of comfort."

"Who are you?"

"We are Unus."

Nikki briefly considered opening her eyes. She wanted to see who was addressing her.

"You would be unwise to do that, child."

A cold dread ran through her. Her mind lurched and she grasped hold of a new train of thought. "Am I really alive? I jumped!"

"Yes. We caught you."

"You caught me? How?"

"We cannot yet live in your world, but there are pockets where our worlds collide."

"Pockets?"

"Doorways. This is how we come and go. There are very many doorways. We saw you jump, we caught you."

In the simplicity of their explanation it all made perfect sense to her. They had caught her.

"I don't think you should have done that."

"You are wrong."

"Yes, I've heard that before." She paused. "Is this real? It doesn't feel real."

"Yes, this is real. Try to remember you are not in your world anymore, child. You are in ours. Our world is unfamiliar to you. We are unfamiliar."

"Oh. So, now what?"

"Now you must return to your Guardian."

"What? I wasn't expecting that."

"You are not ready."

"Ready?"

"You are not ready."

"For what? Are you sure this is real because I swear I'm dreaming."

"Open your eyes if you want to see the truth."

"Am I safe?"

"Yes."

Nikki raised an eyebrow before tentatively peeking through the lashes of her squinted eye. She shut it immediately and gagged on the bile scorching her throat. She preferred the blackness.

"Are you sure I'm safe?" she whispered.

She pictured her surroundings in her mind's eye. A jagged, red rock upon which a mass of bodies writhed. Their eyes gaping and mouths slung open, blood and insects pouring from every orifice.

"You are perfectly safe. You are our most treasured asset. We will honour you when your time comes."

The queasiness faded and her breathing slowed. She had to be dreaming! She had to be!

"I shouldn't be here"

"No, you do not belong here now. But you are perfectly safe. You are our most treasured asset. We will honour you when your time comes."

"Oh. When will that be?"

"When you are ready."

"Ready for what? I don't understand."

"It is time to return you."

"Wait!" A question popped into Nikki's head and she became agitated as she debated weather she should voice her query.

"You may ask us."

She inhaled and squeezed her eyes tight.

"Why did you save me if you're trying to kill me? I mean the Blood Hounds and shape shifters and everything."

"They do not belong in our world. They are our enemies. You will return now."

"Oh."

"We shall watch over you. When your Guardian fails we will not. Until the time comes, you are safe."

"Safe? Safe? Hold on. Safe from who?"

"Everyone."

"Everyone?"

"You are safe. Until the time comes."

She understood the hidden meaning to their unspoken words but yet the need to clarify over powered her.

"So what you are saying, if I'm understanding you right, is it doesn't matter what I try, you won't let me die. At least not until it's time."

"Yes. You are safe. And now you must return. We are watching."

The ground caved in, crumbling beneath her feet and once again she fell. Holding her breath, she waited until the feeling of motion stopped. The silence surrounding her melted as noise filtered through her subconscious. Traffic and voices assaulted her ears.

"Nikki?" Josh's hysterical voice cut through the darkness forcing her eyes open. She was on her bed in the hotel and Josh was running into her room, an unreadable expression on his gorgeous face.