Argent Eye II

32

I became aware of a dull throbbing sensation making its way through my body. An ache. Like I'd just done hours of exercise, but ten times worse. It wasn't just my muscles. It was my bones. My head. My blood, if that even made sense.

Everything.

I couldn't even muster the energy to open my eyes, so I just lay wherever I was in thought. I mean, I had to be in Doctor Gerald's lab somewhere. Where else would I be? But I couldn't bring myself to care.

I wondered if the Doctor had succeeded in his little experiment. Where was Ronan? What was Ellie doing right now? Was Kate still working with him?

Kate.

I hadn't thought about Kate for what felt like an eternity. I was sure that I would still be angry with her if I had the energy to be, but currently I didn't feel anything but the ache. The thoughts buzzing round my head seemed to be empty and meaningless. Distant. Like they were somebody else's problem.

I managed to open my eyes, and found that I was laying in my bed at home.

I frowned.

Not home as in the same house as Jake, Tom and Andy, but home as in with my mum and dad. I was in my single bed, with my floral duvet covering my body. My dog teddy bear was at the end of my bed, where it always was.

My body no longer ached, and so I sat up. I was wearing my usual pyjamas. Everything was normal, but at the same time, something felt off.

The door opened then, and my Nan walked in.

My Nan, who'd been dead for over ten years.

"Hello, dear." She said, coming to sit on the edge of my bed like nothing were amiss. She didn't look any different from when I'd last seen her- she still had a grey perm bouncing on her head, and deep, set wrinkles on her face. But there was a strange glow about her. She didn't struggle to walk or sit. Her knees didn't crack when she did so.

I rubbed my tired eyes. "How... you're...?" I began.

"Dead?" She finished for me, smiling. "Why, yes dear, I am. But don't worry too much about that."

I frowned again. "Where am I?"

Nan looked around. "Well, it looks like your bedroom." She said.

"But it's not, is it?" I asked.

She smiled again, her green eyes sparkling. "No, dear. If it were, then I wouldn't be here."

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"It's not me who is in the wrong place, dear." She said, amused. "It is you."

I got out of bed and stretched my legs, before looking out the window.

Everything was white. Usually I would see the neighbour's homes, and beyond that there'd be the rolling hills of Kent. But this time, there was nothing. Like the house were floating on... nothing.

"What am I doing here, then?" I asked.

Nan shrugged. "Well, I don't know, really. I just got told that I had a visitor, and here you were."

"Oh." I said. I didn't bother asking who told her she had a visitor- something in my head told me not to ask. Or was it someone? Again, I didn't want to ask for some reason. "I'm not dead, am I?"

Nan laughed loudly. "Oh, no, dear. You're somewhere in between at the moment, but you're far from ready to cross over to my side any time soon." She lost all amusement then. "Although, I do have to say I wasn't very happy to hear how close you became last year, young lady."

I pursed my lips.

"But then I was told that you'd saved a lot of lives, for which I'm proud of you. Nobody else can do what you can do."

I realised something then.

The ice.

It was gone.

In fact, all of the elements were gone.

Doctor Geralds had said that I wouldn't get my powers back.

"Nobody else can do what I could do." I corrected her, hanging my head. I slumped back onto my bed. How would I ever stop Doctor Geralds now?

Nan placed her fingers under my chin and forced me to lift my head, to look at her. She then placed her other hand on my chest. On my beating heart. "Look to your heart, and you will find what you seek." She said, a kind smile on her face. "For what you seek never truly left."

"What do you mean?" I asked, but then my Nan got up. "Wait, Nan- don't go." I pleaded, standing up but finding that my feet wouldn't move. I couldn't follow her. Not where she was going.

My Nan turned to me one final time. "Believe in yourself." She said, before leaving.

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