He couldn’t quite tell what was going on, but Luke’s gut was full of a sense of dread as he drifted in and out of consciousness until finally, he fell into a deep sleep once again.
Voices filled his head, some he knew and others he didn’t. He heard his mother, Skylar, and his brothers. He heard the voice of her and his friends, as well as some unfamiliar or faded ones.
His mind swirled, one thought forming with another until he couldn’t think. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he think?
He needed to wake up. Luke needed to wake up so he could help them. He remembered a snippet of seeing Skylar, the light bright behind her head as he looked at her. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but he remembered what he’d thought of her when he first saw her.
An angel. Skylar was an angel.
Random thoughts came to the surface, crazed mutterings as he tried to concentrate on the world around him. He could hear people, but only small snippets of what they were saying.
Somebody mentioned a war. War…Luke needed to remember words. War…that reminded him of his father. Yes, his father. His father was in the war. He muttered it to himself, trying to form a sentence. He missed his father.
Wake…up. He tried to say to himself, wake up. He could barely even speak, but he just knew he needed to wake up.
Fear gripped his heart as he felt as if he was falling, surrounded by swirling darkness as a hissing voice filled his head, replacing the voices of those he loved.
You will fail.
Just give up, Luke Doogan.
You will never be like your father.
Your friends will die.
You will die.
The world will die.
And you will have failed everyone.
So just give up.
Luke shook his head, trying to block out the sound of her. No, no it was too much. Every fear he held at the moment was being thrown in his face by the one who had been taunting him all these weeks.
These were his nightmares.
He had to wake up. He had to escape this horrible dream. Wake up, he told himself, wake. Up. Wake…up.
Luke gasped, drenched in sweat as he sat up in a cot. He was awake. Finally, he had escaped this horrible nightmare.
His breaths came in short, tight bursts, each one coming to relief of Luke.
He turned to see Skylar on a chair beside him, her face on the bed as she had fallen asleep. He smiled despite himself, glad she was there with him.
Ever since they had been apart for those few weeks in the Waters of Abdomes, when Luke would wake up in the morning he’d look around, panicking a little before he saw Skylar, asleep a ways away from him and he would feel relieved again.
He studied her face as she slept, that peaceful expression she so rarely wore these days. Everyone was stressed and worried now, so not many of them were as calm as they used to be.
Some of her stray hairs had fallen on her face, so Luke brushed them away from her eyes, tucking them behind her ear.
At the gentle touch of his fingers, Skylar’s expression changed as she woke up a little. Her eyes open, the yellow almost glowing in the dark. When she saw his face, she smiled.
“You’re awake,” Skylar lifted her head, glad he was finally conscious. “You were asleep for almost two days.”
“Oh,” Luke wasn’t so sure how to react to that news, “I thought it had been shorter, I guess.”
Skylar’s face turned from relief to frustration pretty quickly, though. “Don’t you ever do that again!” she blurted out, gently pushing Luke’s shoulder.
“Do what?”
“Put yourself in danger like that!” Skylar almost yelled, “If you hadn’t given me that cloak, you wouldn’t have gotten sick! And-and who knows what could’ve happened if you didn’t get better,” Skylar stared earnestly into his eyes, sparkling with tears. “I don’t want you in danger or even dying because you’re protecting me. I don’t want you putting so much pressure on yourself for me or the others. You have to let other people take the load as well.”
Luke nodded, although he didn’t say anything, knowing she was right. But he didn’t want to change that. And now he felt guilty for everything that might have happened while he was unconscious.
“What…what happened?” he asked, “Where are we?”
Skylar’s smile returned, although he could tell she still felt guilty about Luke giving her his cloak.
“Follow me,” Skylar held out her hand for Luke, and he took it gladly.
…
As she led him through a beautiful clearing, Skylar held Luke’s arm over her shoulder, as he still felt too weak to walk normally.
Skylar explained to Luke as they sat by a reflective pool the events for the last two days that he had missed, all the while he felt guilty for getting sick.
“I’m sorry, Skye,” Luke sighed as he stared at their reflections in the pool, then corrected himself. “I mean Skylar.” He nervously ran a hand through his hair, apologizing again.
“Sorry,” he continued, “I know you don’t like it when people call you Skye.”
“Luke,” Skylar put a hand on his shoulder, “It’s alright. You don’t have to correct yourself. I think…” Skylar glanced at their reflection, then turned her eyes back to him. “I think I’m ready to let people call me ‘Skye’ again.”
Luke offered a small smile, the same crooked one he’d offered since the first day he’d met his newfound friends.
“Is there…a reason why you didn’t like to be called Skye?” Luke glanced over at her, staring at her yellow eyes.
Skylar had pulled her knees close to her chest, a movement Luke had seen her do whenever she seemed sad or uncomfortable.
Skylar let out a breath, hugging her legs close as she explained, “A long time ago, when my father was still alive, he would call me Skye. And it wasn’t every so often, it was all the time.” she laughed a little at that, her smile returning before her face became sad again. “And…when he died, it was only Chris and me. He was still pretty young, sure, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t take care of me.
“There were community meals all the time. I mean, the Secret Woods didn’t have paying jobs. It was all given to us as a big community. We had treehouses to return to, everyone had their rooms, and it was nice. But…I didn’t feel right.
“Chris tried his best, but he wasn’t our father. So, when he started to call me Skye, I don’t know…it just…seemed right.”
“So, you didn’t like people calling you that because it was only what people close to you would say,” Luke realized, as Skylar nodded to him.
“I know it’s immature and childish to be so upset by a nickname,” Skylar murmured as she picked at the grass by her side, “But it just felt…wrong to hear other people calling me that. Almost as if…”
“They were…replacing your father.”
Skylar bit her lip, pulling apart the grass in her hands.
“Hey…” Luke gently held Skylar’s hands in his own, letting her drop the grass. She looked into his eyes, the bright yellow discs shining in the sun.
“You have every right to be upset about something,” Luke told her earnestly, especially something as personal as that.”
He thought he saw Skylar’s cheeks turn a shade of pink, and she pulled her hands out of his gentle grip, turning her head to tuck some loose hair behind her ear.
“I’m sorry,” Luke ran his hand through his hair again, his eyes shut tight, heat rising to his cheeks. “I-I never think when it comes to this sort of stuff. I mean, I’ve never even had a-”
He felt a soft touch on his cheek and opened his eyes to find Skylar sitting beside him, pulling away from the quick kiss she’d given him.
Luke’s mouth was agape, and he stared at Skylar, whose face was completely red.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she kept saying, burying her face in her hands, “I’m not used to this sort of thing either.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but Luke was interrupted by a horn sounding, a girl closer to one of the waterfalls shouting for people to join her for a meeting.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s Lydia,” Skylar explained, “She’s the leader of the Rising Sun and had one of her healers help you. I think she’s calling a meeting.”
Skylar stood then, offering a hand to Luke. He took it again, as they made their way over to Lydia…
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