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alina's quest
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. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧
That night, Mike slept in their room. On the floor, which didn't seem to be comfortable, but he refused to go home after learning about Will's worsening condition. From the top bunk, her eyes open, unable to sleep, Alina thought about the two of them. Mike had always been close to Will—closer than he was to any of his other friends—and in the past couple days, it seemed they'd grown even closer. In another world, perhaps they wouldn't be friends at all, but something else. Alina had a fondness for the both of them.
She blinked up at the white ceiling, listening to the sound of Mike and Will's breathing. Neither of them snored—thank God—and it was almost relaxing to listen to them. She didn't want to fall asleep yet. She was too afraid of what she'd find in her dreams.
Her fingers absently traced the bandage still covering her hand. Why had she done that? It had seemed reasonable at the time—to face your fear of fire, you might have to get burned—but now it was just ridiculous. It was like... it was the same force that had propelled her to slash at Daniel's face. A force that simply wasn't like her at all.
Alina pushed back her covers and sat up suddenly. Slowly, she moved so she was dangling off the railing that prevented her from falling out of bed, and looked at Will. The boy's eyes were closed, but he could see them moving under his sockets again. Back and forth, like a steady ticking of a clock. Was that what happened when someone entered REM sleep? Perhaps she should've paid more attention in science class in the past. But that had seemed trivial.
Will's hair was plastered to his skin with sweat, and occasionally, he let out a sharp gasp, but he didn't wake. This wasn't normal. Nothing about this was normal. Something was happening to him, and Alina didn't know what to do.
She lay back down on her bed, throwing the covers off. Even though the window was open, a slight breeze blowing through, she preferred the coolness to the heavy warmth of her blankets. Alina nuzzled her face into her pillow, her eyes still open. It smelled of lavender. And that's when she heard the whisper.
