“Forced.” I repeated, frowning.
“Yes. Forced.”
I contemplated my choice of words carefully. The anger behind his eyes was frightening. Slowly reaching my hand out and placing it on his forearm, I probed him further. “How did they force you?”
I had visions of the Majestic 12 hypnotizing Keanu or beating him into submission. My stomach turned as I considered that he, too, may have lived through unimaginable pains.
Though he was a very big man, he appeared so frail to me at that moment. His voice wavered and his eyes glistened with unshed tears as he spoke.
“They have my sister…Keila.”
Chapter 15
My head was pressed against the glass of the passenger side window, bobbing occasionally with the movement of the car over the highway.
The sun had just set leaving the moon in charge of lighting our way. A silvery hue now blanketed the darkening countryside. The snowflakes that had reflected the sun’s golden glow all day now glistened like white diamonds dancing upon a sheet of glass.
The cold of the night invaded the interior of the car. Keanu turned up the heat when I shivered and pulled my hands up into the arms of my sleeves.
The escape had only happened this morning but I felt like it had been weeks already. My brain hurt with all the new information being processed.
Fear and adrenaline had kept me buzzing for most the day. Even hunger hadn’t invaded my thoughts or my stomach until just recently. I had been on high alert all day, anticipating that the Majestic 12 would jump out at us at any moment.
Weary, I closed my eyes for just a second before forcing them open again. I was too afraid to sleep. Unconsciousness would leave me vulnerable. If I stayed awake, I could see them coming.
My mind thought it, but I wasn’t sure if it was me or the baby that had actually said it. Now I was just losing my mind.
One thing that I wondered was if the cave was going to look just like I’d seen in my dreams. How could I know what the cave looks like if I hadn’t been there since I was an infant? Would grandmother even remember where it was? Was it safe to go there? Probably not.
I thought of the dream. The reoccurring dream. It hadn’t visited me for quite a while. Last I recalled, there was a mysterious man in my dreams who’d carried me through a snowy desert to the cave. I actually hoped I would dream soon. I wasn’t enjoying being awake right now. My reality was almost unbearable.
Now that I’d gotten my freedom back, I couldn’t bear to think of the Majestic 12 capturing me again and dragging me back to their facility. Maybe it was just because I was exhausted and delirious with stress, but I actually felt that death was a much better option than facing the men in black again.
In some strange way, I had the feeling that it wasn’t just the Majestic 12 that was stalking us. Death was right on our heels as well. It was just a matter of time before one of them found us.
Resisting sleep, my eyelids forced their way over my dry and exhausted eyes. A wave of relaxation swept over me as I surrendered to the unconsciousness. Almost instantly, a dream began, but it was not what I expected.
A rainbow of colors danced in front of my eyes. It was like a blanket of northern lights swirling around me, embracing me. I realized quickly that I was completely naked, but for some reason, I didn’t care. I had no concern whatsoever for my exposure.
As the palette of shades waltzed in a circular rhythm around me, I noticed a figure approaching me from outside the peaceful tornado. Immediately drawn to the being, I opened my arms to offer an embrace. I knew this person, this creature. I instinctively knew her to be my mother even though I’d never seen her before.
Light. She was made of light. Her body, inside and out, was comprised totally of energy. White energy.
Stepping out from the confines of the rainbow whirlwind, I sensed her smile at me. She spoke to me, not with a voice, but with a thought. Tears welled in my eyes as I heard her tell me she was proud of me.
Raising her right hand, she placed it on the center of my belly. An exchange occurred between her and the baby. An exchange of light. Inside of me, the baby squirmed with excitement, somehow knowing her ancestor was nearby.
For just a moment, I felt like an outsider. An intruder. I didn’t understand what was happening to me. I needed to know why this fate had been placed upon me.
Why was I left on the Earth? Was I alone here? Why had my people abandoned me?
Part of me began to recall my true nature, my real identity, but the knowledge was just barely out of reach and the closer I got to it, the faster it moved from me.
“
I tried to communicate with my mother but her essence only smiled at me and began to move away. Attempting to run after her, I realized I couldn’t travel forward. Crying, I called for her over and over again.
Just before she faded out of view, however, she turned around one last time. Her luminescence shifted and became more solid. With her features shifting to human, I recognized her face…it was mine.
Within seconds of the realization that she wore my face, it appeared to melt away like a wax mannequin. Flesh and blood bled away from her…my…face leaving only patches of white bone peering through.
I opened my mouth to scream, but I had no voice. Raising my hand to my mouth, I realized that my skin was mirroring hers…and mine was liquefying and sliding off my face as well.
A faceless monster, I flung myself upon the ground and tore at the chunks of skin falling off of me. Holding what remained of my face in my hands, I suddenly began to shake.
Then it all ended.
“Cassia! Wake up!” Sweat beaded on my forehead and chest as Keanu shook me by the shoulder. “It’s just a dream Cassia!”
My eyes fluttered open as I tried to focus on my surroundings. The amnesia of waking after a dream faded as I realized where I was. Keanu watched me with concern as he kept his hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay? You were screaming.” He asked after he was certain I had regained my composure.
“Yes. It…was a weird one.” I took in deep breaths and tried to exhale slowly in order to slow my racing heart.
“Jesus, you were shrieking. It sounded awful.” Looking a little shaken, he reached to push the button for the radio.
Keanu turned the knob on the dashboard as he searched for a good tune. The long stretch of highway we were on left us with few choices considering the reception we’d get in the middle of nowhere.
Blips of voices and undesirable songs floated throughout the interior of the car. He didn’t seem to be much for talking right now. After the screaming incident during my nightmare, I think I freaked him out a little.
I guessed that he was rather stressed.
If the Majestic 12 had his sister held prisoner, he was probably worried about what her fate would be, considering his recent actions. He’d stolen hot commodity from a powerful and secret government agency, I’d be concerned too.
It had to have been pretty spectacular if the Majestic 12 felt the need to blackmail Keanu into working for them. I wanted to ask him but the expression on his face didn’t look very inviting, in fact, he looked downright sick.
“What’s wrong?” I asked when I noticed his jaw was clenched and his face had paled dramatically. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yah, I’m just tired…and hungry. I’ll be okay.” He waved his hand toward me in attempts to shrug it
