One of the dream orbs whirled closer, brushing soft as a soap bubble against Isabel's cheek. She recognized the orb. It belonged to Tish Okabe, one of her closest friends-outside the tight circle of those who knew the secret. Isabel allowed herself a moment to appreciate the iridescent whirls of color in Tish's orb, then began to hum, coaxing the dream orb that belonged to Kyle toward her.
It responded almost immediately, whipping toward her bullet fast and spinning to a stop in her outstretched hands.
'Eager, aren't you?' she whispered, then slowly spread her hands apart, urging the dream orb to expand. Soon it was large enough to step inside, but Isabel took a moment to survey the dream from without.
She felt a twinge of pity when she saw that Kyle was dreaming about being in the institution. The guy couldn't even get out of there for a couple of hours when he was asleep. Well, she could give him one pleasant association with the place-while she was getting what she wanted.
'I think you'll like this, Kyle,' she said. An instant later she was dressed in a nurse's uniform, a very short, very tight nurse's uniform. Her hair was in a French twist, with a few tendrils free around her face. 'I think you'll like this a lot.' With a satisfied smile she stepped through the wall of Kyle's dream orb.
'Time for your shoulder rub,' she said, all bright and perky as she headed toward the single bed in the dreary room. 'Sit up, please.' Kyle eagerly obeyed, and Isabel sat down on the bed beside him, taking a moment to turn the sheets from rough cotton to perfumed satin. She began massaging his shoulders, sometimes leaning close enough for her breasts to almost brush against him. Almost.
'I need to ask you a few questions. For your chart,' Isabel announced, keeping up the massage. 'Can you describe one of your fantasies for me?'
'This is pretty much at the top of the list,' Kyle answered. He had to clear his throat a few times before he got it out.
'Uh-huh. Interesting,' Isabel answered. She also thought it was interesting how people would accept pretty much anything in a dream. She hadn't changed her face or anything, but Kyle didn't seem to think there was anything strange about Isabel Evans turning up as his nurse.
'And what's your favorite color? I'm very curious about that.' Isabel moved the massage a little lower down Kyle's back.
'Blue. Like your eyes,' Kyle answered immediately, needing to clear his throat a few times for that one, too.
'Mmm-hmm.' Isabel moved the massage still lower, getting a sound that was part gasp and part yelp from Kyle. 'And that device that you used on the Stone. Where is that now?'
'Guys' bathroom closest to the cafeteria.' Kyle half spoke, half groaned. 'Metal box. Taped behind the toilet. Last stall.'
'Good boy.' Isabel patted him on the head. 'I'm sure you'll be out of here real soon. Just stop talking about aliens. That's just silly.'
And she was outta there. Out of the orb and out of the dream plane. 'Finesse, that's all it takes,' she said to Trevor as she opened her eyes. 'The device is at school. We'll get there early and pick it up.'
Trevor stood up. 'Good job,' he said. He backed two steps toward the door, then immediately took a step forward, toward her. 'It's almost time for the two hours' sleep. I should change back to Max and go to my room.' He took another step closer to Isabel.
'Yeah, you probably should,' she answered, teasing Trevor a little even though, being a guy, he didn't realize he was being teased.
Trevor got a deer-in-the-headlights, Dawson-ish look on his face. 'Uh, I talked to Michael, and if we shatter the consciousness, he's going back home with me,' he blurted out.
Isabel felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart, but Trevor didn't give her a second to recover from that little bombshell before he hit her with another.
'I want you to go with us,' he added. Then he stumbled forward, sat down on the bed, and kissed her. All his clumsiness disappeared as soon as his lips touched hers.
This has to be his first kiss in his human form. And he's already so good at it, she thought fuzzily. Then she stopped thinking, all her attention needed just to
'Wow,' she mumbled when he finally released her. And Isabel wasn't a girl who said wow. Her heart was pounding as if she'd just run a mile.
'Do you think you would want to come back with me?' Trevor asked throatily. 'Is it a possibility at all?'
Isabel smoothed her hair away from her face, trying to give her brain a few seconds to get fully functional again.
'I… I think I need to wait and see what happens with Max,' she answered. 'He might not be in great shape when we break him free.'
Trevor stood up and met her gaze, his eyes serious. 'Iz, I want you to be prepared. I don't think-I really don't think you should be assuming that Max is going to make it.'
Another stabbing pain, this one in her heart
She wanted him out of there, and she approached the door, forcing him to walk out ahead of her. As long as he stood in her room, his words would continue to hang over her head, waiting to fall, waiting to crush her.
'Isabel, I-'
'Just go, Trevor,' she said. Then, seeing the hurt look on his face, she forced a tight smile. 'Please. I'm really tired.'
She didn't let a single tear fall until the door was closed behind him.
'I cut school and started working on the timer,' Trevor told the group.
Michael leaned across his kitchen table and studied the silver disk in Trevor's hand. 'When will you have it ready to go?' he asked.
'It won't take much longer,' Trevor answered, turning the disk over and over in his hand. 'Isabel's going to help me wrap it up and hook up a remote so we can guide the device at least partway through the wormhole. We should be finished late tonight.'
'So tomorrow morning we do this thing,' Michael said, glancing from Isabel to Trevor to Liz to Alex, but keeping his eyes away from Maria. He'd started having a hard time looking at her. It had gotten to the point where it actually hurt to see her face.
'Is there anything we should be doing?' Alex asked, leaning his elbows on the table.
Trevor shook his head. 'Getting the timer and the remote hooked up is a two-person job. And that's all there is to do.'
'That and get through tonight,' Liz said. She twisted her hair into a knot on top of her head, then immediately let it fall free. 'The waiting is driving me crazy.'
Get through tonight, Michael thought. How was he going to do that? This could be his last night on earth. He shouldn't waste it watching TV. Without a conscious decision, Michael's eyes went to Maria. She was pale… and beautiful. He felt something wrench inside his body and looked away fast.
'I'm-I've got some stuff to do. Stay here as long as you want.' He made his escape, slamming out the door and pounding down the staircase leading to the parking lot. As soon as his feet hit asphalt, he started to run. He kept running until he got to the doughnut shop.
Yeah. This is definitely a last-night-on-earth kind of event, he thought as he stepped inside and pulled in his first breath of the sugary air. He couldn't take off without having a few more of his crullers.
Michael ordered himself an even dozen, then sat down at his usual table and pulled a handful of hot sauce packets out of his jacket pocket. He got one of the crullers set up just the way he liked it and took a big bite.
It tasted like dust. He added more hot sauce and took another bite. More dust.
Michael finished off the cruller, then ate two more, pretending they actually tasted good to him, then he shoved away his tray. Now what? A last trip to the mall? A last slice of Flying Pepperoni pizza? A last trip to Adam's grave to tell him that he was leaving?
