Liz looked incredible today, Adam thought. He lay on the living-room floor and let his mind drift back to the scene in the
With a groan Adam flipped over and buried his face in one of the flat beanbags. He wished it was time for his short sleep period because then he wouldn't be lost in thinking about Liz. Probably.
I wonder if she dreams about me, Adam thought. Right, like that was even possible. But still, maybe he should go dream walking and check out her dream orb. He'd give anything to see what Liz dreamed about.
No, Adam told himself. It would violate her privacy. And what right did he have thinking about her so much, anyway? She was with Max. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Adam was nothing to her. Nothing special, anyhow.
And Max had been so great to him. They all had.
So Adam definitely shouldn't peek into Liz's dream orb.
Definitely.
But nothing was stopping him from dream walking elsewhere. Even when he'd been confined to the compound, dream walking had allowed him a little taste of freedom. He could experience the whole world in dreams.
And if he stopped by Liz's dream-just stopped by to look at it from the outside-who would that hurt?
Nobody.
Adam flipped over on his back and closed his eyes. He let a wave of calm creep up his body, starting with his toes. When the current of relaxation reached his head, Adam opened his eyes on the dream plane. He was surrounded by billions of glowing spheres, a chaotic field of bubbles stretching into the distance. Brilliant colors swirled on the surfaces of the spheres, and each gave off a pure note so rich, it barely translated as sound. Adam felt the music deeply more than just heard it-this was a music all the senses had to share.
Each bubble was attached to a dreamer. Adam whistled softly, concentrating on picturing Liz. Sure enough, she was asleep, and her dream sphere floated toward Adam's summons. He held the whistled note until Liz's sphere spun close enough for him to see inside.
What he saw sent a jolt through him. Liz was having a nightmare.
Something was chasing her through her house. She ran up the stairs, her eyes wide with terror, as she searched for someplace to hide. The walls contracted until they were as narrow as tunnels. A thick blue fog filled the stairwell, making it hard for Liz to see who was chasing her and making it even harder for her to escape.
Adam placed his open hands around the orb, willing the sphere to expand until the figures inside were life- size.
Liz was in a bedroom now, surrounded by the fog, backing up against the headboard of the bed. Out reached a pair of hands and grabbed Liz by the throat. She saw its face for the first time, and Adam saw it, too. The thing… the thing was Liz. Another Liz. With lips and eyes sewn shut with thick black thread.
Adam had seen enough. He charged inside her dream orb. He grabbed the creature, and instantly it turned to dust. Then he took Liz by the hand and switched the scene to someplace Liz would feel safe-the ground floor of the UFO museum.
'Get it away! Get it away!' Liz screamed.
'It's gone,' Adam said soothingly. 'Would you like to hear some music?'
Still shaken, Liz nodded. Adam pressed a button on the jukebox. The music that poured out was smooth and slow, with a high, beautiful melody.
'That's nice,' Liz said. She began to sway back and forth. And then she smiled at him, dimpling her left cheek.
A strong pang of guilt coursed through Adam. Was this okay, him here with Liz? Max wouldn't care if they were just doing friendly stuff, right?
Yeah, Max definitely would have wanted Adam to take Liz out of that nightmare. Do something to take her mind off it. Like… like ask her to dance.
Adam held out his arms to her. 'Would you-'
'Sure,' Liz said. She smiled again, but her expression was different this time. It was less friendly and more… interesting.
Adam gulped as he stepped toward her, but she didn't seem nervous at all. Liz met his gaze, her brown eyes glowing with warmth. Then she was in his arms, his hands clasped at the small of her back. Her tender amber aura washed over his lemon yellow energy like the first streaks of a sunset.
He couldn't forget any of this moment. It was too precious. Adam took a second to memorize everything he was sensing. The supple feel of her body against his own. The heat of her hands on his shoulders. The soft brush of her hair against his cheek.
After all, if it wasn't a dream, he wouldn't have the chance to hold Liz like this. He might never have the opportunity again.
Not in the real world.
In the real world, they would always be just friends.
SIX
'How is anybody supposed to eat this?' Liz asked her friends, all of whom were seated around a long table in the school cafeteria. All her friends minus Alex, of course. And Adam. They still hadn't figured out a way to register him for school without every social services department in the country swooping down on him. So Adam hung out in Michael's apartment alone during the day.
Adam. Liz had woken up with an odd feeling about him this morning-a pleasant feeling, too. But she couldn't put her finger on where it came from.
'That's why I brought tuna fish,' Maria said. 'You couldn't pay me to eat this cafeteria garbage.'
Michael looked at them with feigned shock. 'What are you talking about?' he protested. He added extra pickles to the top of his slice of sausage pizza. 'This is a gourmet meal.'
'That is the most vile thing I've ever seen,' Liz said, pointing at his lunch.
'Seriously,' Isabel said. 'You could have at least added some Sweet'n Low.'
'Oh, yuck!' Maria said.
'Fine. More for me, then,' Michael replied with a smile.
Liz smiled, too, but she was wondering why Max had been so quiet all lunch period. He hadn't joined in any of their joking around, and he hadn't even sat beside Liz at the table. Max was sitting on the other side of Isabel, across from Michael, lost in his thoughts. Drifting to… wherever.
'Max,' Liz said. 'Earth to Max.'
He looked up at her, surprised. 'Oh,' he said, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. 'Sorry. I was just thinking about the cave.'
'Isabel's memory?' Maria asked.
Max nodded. 'I've been wracking my brain for any distinguishing factors, but so far… zilch, zip-'
'Nada,' Isabel said. 'Me too. It's all a blur. I wish I could remember it better, but-wait, scratch that… I'm glad I don't remember. DuPris's a pig.'
'What
'You mean
