Chapter 190Other Eyes 9 - A New Dream

Time was wasting away with no abandon. So hard to grasp, dreams and reality flowing into each other. Echoes inside my head reflected off the walls. Only Valerie, her voice like a beacon in the night, kept me sane. I was holding on by my last thread of self, my last thread of sanity.

Our heartbeats were the only thing punctuating the flow of time and... They felt like they beat in sync.

"Our hearts, as one, beating" I barely realized the fractured nature of my sentences.

Valerie spoke quietly. "Yes, they beat together. It's the only sound we have here and our bodies slow or quicken our heartbeat to match the sound."

I needed to tell her I couldn't hold on. "Losing..."

"I know." She sounded stretched out herself as well. Holding herself together for me, lest we both lose our minds.

It was odd, my thoughts were working in several layers. A part of me, deep inside, registered everything normally. Noting my creeping insanity and my wavering senses. On top of that started the layer that tried to hold on to my body, the muscles losing their connection with the nerves, feeling weaker, underfed.

Tap...

The sound was like a gong next to my ear. Someone outside tapped on the metal blocking the window. Valerie got up fast and tapped back, wondering if it was Kai or something coming to rescue us. I felt horribly in need of rescue and horrible for needing it.

Tap tap...

Valerie returned the taps and, to my surprise, it was a female voice answering.

If the silence inside wasn't so deafening, the voice would almost go unnoticed, but now, her sweet welcome voice was as loud as a pin dropping in a cathedral that had been silent for over a hundred years.

"Khuna? Valerie?"

Valeries sigh was music to my ears. "Amy?"

Tension was palpable. Amy had found us, now everything would be alright. Though I wasn't sure if this was real or just one of my dreams. My heart sank in the realization this might just be a hallucination. My fears playing in on me.

Her voice, like a drink in the desert, came again. "Both of you?"

Valerie took a deep breath. "Yes. We can't get out, we haven't fed in days... I think." She took another small breath to finish the sentence. "Dark here, no light, no time."

It seemed to take forever for her to respond, but in a moment of clarity I understood she was thinking. "How is Khuna?"

Valerie looked at me with sad eyes. "Bad, she needs blood."

Shame... I didn't want to be this way. I wanted to be strong. But... My body needed sustenance... I needed...

My dream continued, or was it real? "And you?"

Valerie smiled bravely. "I... can manage. But... She will lose control."

Would I? The part deep in me that was surveying everything as if it was just a movie, the surrealism of this moment was confusing my head. I wasn't sure what was real and not, yet there wasn't that many strange dreams at this moment, just their words, rushing over me like a warm shower.

Amy's voice came again. "I will find a way to free you both."

Valerie sighed and smiled, releasing a lot of the tension she was feeling. "Thank you."

We felt her presence retreat, probably moving away from the window. Valerie called out once more to her. "Amy... Hurry..."

The answer came, surprising me a little. Amy's voice laced with worry. "I will."

She vanished from my dream, was she even there to begin with? Another noise attracted our attention, a much different noise. Someone was walking in front of the door and opening the slot. Time slowed down.

The part deep in me realized the man was holding a water bottle. It's simple existence filled with implications. They didn't know! They didn't realize who they were holding! They didn't know about Valerie and me!

The part controlling my actions had me jumping to the door with only one thought in my head.

Blood!