The Shimmers in the Night

Eight

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Jax's face.

It was his own face: animated and curious, with standard-issue blue eyes. She felt a rush of relief to see him back to himself—she hadn't ruined things when she called out. At the same time she was so jarred by her own return that she could barely take it in: her head spun. Jax was very close to her, and as she blinked in the light she realized his hands were on the sides of her head.

He took them away and straightened.

"She's back!" he crowed, and turned to the other faces coming into focus behind him: Hayley and Jaye.

Cara's body felt heavy as she struggled to sit up, but the moment passed and she was settled in herself again. The palms of her hands still ached faintly; she'd forgotten about that.

She looked around. She was in an armchair in a small room. She could see a row of pods through an open door.

"I did it!" continued Jax.

Her own Jax. She felt like hugging him, but found she was just grinning dumbly.

"You did!" congratulated Jaye, and clapped him on the back. "Cara! How do you feel?"

Hayley leaned in close.

"You didn't actually look that bad with black eyes," she mused. "They kind of set off your hair."

"Hayley!" protested Jaye.

Cara remembered, then, the sight of Jaye being throttled by the big man, and felt a start of fear after the fact.

"Jaye—your throat—are you OK?"

Jaye nodded, pulling down her collar to show a couple of bruises on her neck.

"I am OK," she said. "Thanks to you."

"That was—that was great what you did, putting out the fire," said Cara, and smiled at her friend.

"Great," said Hayley. "Jaye's the hero. And you're the hero. And Jax is the hero, too. I'm the only one who's not. I messed everything up by having that stuff in my backpack."

"It wasn't your fault, Hay," said Cara.

"Not at all," said Jaye.

Hayley nodded slightly, but she looked distant and a little sad.

"Where's—where's Mom?" asked Cara, stretching out her arms and then rising unsteadily to her feet as her friends and her brother stepped back to give her room. She was conflicted. She was hugely relieved by Jax's return and her own, but part of her—once she got used to it—had almost begun to like being bodiless in that deep, dark place, seeing the flashes of mysterious life.

Part of her had grown to savor floating there, after the fear had waned. In the abyss near the source—if that was what it was—and in her avatar state there'd been a thrilling sense of freedom.

"She left with Mr. Sabin and the rest of the teachers," said Jax, his face collapsing into worry. "They—"

"They were fighting the bad guys," interrupted Hayley. "Your mom was like, the leader. She busted out some total martial-arts moves."

"Not martial arts," protested Jax.

"It was too," said Hayley. "Like in those Chinese movies where they fly through the air. Supernatural kung fu."

"Point being," said Jaye, "she brought down the hollow who had you—and just in time, because it looked like he was going to take off with you somewhere. I mean your body. But then all hell broke loose...."