Six Weeks (Dragonfly #4)

Echo of the Past

I groaned, not fully awake. Voices swirled around my head, I wish they would go away. This dreamy place I was in was nice, no distractions, no emotions. A light shaking annoyingly brought me out of my stupor.

"Zach? Are you awake?" It was Jay, I figured I was back in the medicine den.

I opened my eyes, his misty blue ones stared back at me with a worried expression.

"Yeah" I answered glumly. "What happened?"

"Um, you kind of fell out if the sky, Sierra managed to slow your fall, you're pretty bruised though"

Honestly I hadn't noticed, the mental pain was so overpowering I felt numb on the outside. "How long was I out?

"A couple days, a lot happened while you were out" he said, turning away from me and shuffling with something.

"Like what?" I questioned.

"Well, a couple kit's decided it was a good time for flying practice, they managed to trap themselves in a cave" he picked up a leaf and spat it out in a pile.

"Are they okay?" I tried to sit up, he pushed me down.

"Oh they're fine, got out this den a few hours ago"

I relaxed, and my mind drifted painfully back to my sister. Visions from my nightmares came flooding back. My bloodstained claws, Zara's frightened eyes, the screaming. Jay stared at me hard suddenly.

"What?" I asked him.

"You're thinking about her" he said.

I looked away from him, guilt tearing at me once more. I was so tired of these emotions. I was so angry that no one seemed to be worried about Zara.

"The hole entire Hill has mixed feelings about you" Jay said, I remained silent.

"Most are angry at you for injuring them a while ago, but after seeing you so... Out of it, you're considered mentally unstable"

I smiled, but it faded from my face in an instant. All these feelings were like wild animals, tearing me apart. I had to fight them alone. That's when it happened. For the first time in two weeks I felt the slightest, faded, echo of magic. Not strong enough for a telepathic message, like a fluttering bird. It brushed up against my senses, for a moment the void of cold was replaced with a warmth that filled my whole body.

I froze, Jay stared at me again. I didn't care, was that real? Or could that have been another nightmarish vision conjured by my raw emotions? I didn't what to think, slowly but surely, I felt something sweet in my soul. The taste of hope on my metaphorical tongue. I felt a tear escape my emotional barrier I spent so long to build up, it crumbled down as hope filled me. Hope, something soothing, yet it set a fire inside myself so strong I knew nothing would stop me.

"Zach?" Questioned Jay. "Zach?"

"I... I..." I couldn't finish, she was alive. Zara was alive, my sister was alive. Tears of absolute joy started falling down my face. I even felt hungry, but mostly happy.

"Are you okay?"

"More than okay, I am much more than okay" I whispered.