Morning Star

Chapter 11: guardian angel | Eva

I rested my head against the cold, brick surface of the bridge, letting out a small breath. I was thankful that we had the coats, for without them, we would have frozen to death long ago in the cold. I had thought it was cold enough during the day - now, at the dead of night, it was freezing.

I wasn't sure what the exact time was, but I estimated that it had been about five or six hours since the sun had set, so it must've been around midnight by now. The world around me was silent - save for Sarah's and Peter's quiet breathing, and the quiet rush of water from the river a few metres away from us. Peter had made me promise to wake him soon, but I could let him sleep for a little longer, right?

I glanced to the side, seeing the many stars blinking across the night sky. I squinted, tracing the patterns with my eyes, finding constellations that I only recognised because Olivia had learnt about them. I was surprised when I realised that despite Earth and Jendilya being two different worlds, we still gazed upwards at the same stars. Could Olivia see these stars from heaven?

Why do you keep thinking about her? She's dead.

There was something on my mind. What had happened to my sister in the last dream we'd shared together? She'd been pushed off the tree by a dark shadow, and hadn't reappeared since. I knew she was only a figment of my imagination, but I couldn't help but worry for the dream version of Olivia. I hoped she would come back, for her presence strangely comforted me. In my dreams, with her present, it was all too easy to forget that she was no longer alive.

I waited for a while longer before sighing as I moved across the picnic blanket to rouse Peter. He awoke groggily, letting out a wide yawn, allowing me to see more of his mouth than I ever wanted to see. "Is it time for my watch already?"

"If you don't want to do it, I'm happy to," I deadpanned. He jerked upwards, as if Evan had just electrocuted him, and fixed me with a fierce stare.

"I'm doing it." Peter pushed himself up onto his knees, and stretched out his arms. "Go to sleep, Eva."

"I don't mind staying up a little longer," I shrugged, but the emerald green eyed boy reached out and practically shoved me downwards.

"Sleep," he ordered firmly. Seeing as there was no room for argument, I lay onto my side, closing my eyes, listening to Sarah's even breaths from beside me.

I hadn't meant to sleep. I had convinced myself that I was not tired, however, I found myself drifting off anyway.

My surroundings changed until I was standing on a single white cloud, staring out into the abyss that was the sky, and the ground far, far below. In fact, the ground was so far down I couldn't make out any distinct shapes, just a sea of darkness. I glanced around me. The sun was nowhere in sight, but the sky was a brilliant shade of blue.

It was a peaceful scene, despite being so high above the ground. Thankfully, I'd never had a fear of heights, but I still didn't like the idea of plummeting for how many feet to my death. Unfortunately, the cloud wasn't as big as I would have liked it to be.

Why was I brought here?

"Hello, Evangeline," a deep, male voice said gravelly from behind me. Like, right behind me. The hairs on my neck stood up, and I spun so fast I nearly fell off the cloud. I gaped when I beheld the boy before me - except, he wasn't really a boy.

He had dark brown skin, but his eyes - they were like a kaleidoscope, changing colour every time I blinked. One second they were magenta, the next fading into a burgundy. He wore white pants, but his torso was bare, which made me question him, but that wasn't even the most distracting thing about him.