Grasping at Eternity (The Kindrily) (33 page)

The truth hit me like a Mack truck. Nathan had been there the night I was attacked. At first, I saw him like in a dream, but then he was really there. Krista said my “dreams” were real. Somehow I must have communicated with him. He knew I was in danger so he traversed to me.

He was the only one who could get here in time. I needed to dream or travel or do whatever I did before. But how could I? My eyes wouldn’t shut.

I stared at the dark water in front of me, watching one fallen branch bob repeatedly, up and down, but my mind wouldn’t relax. At the very bottom of my scope of vision I could see my ring resting against my thigh.

Eye. Concentrate on the eye. I could do this. I had to.

I focused on the eye of the peacock feather, remembering how it swirled and shimmered in my dreams—in my astral travels. A glimmering wave danced under the glass.

Yes,
I mentally begged.
Please work
.

A beam of light formed a tunnel between me and the ring. The dark, horrific nightmare disappeared behind me. The tunnel grew brighter and I kept being pulled forward until I saw Nathan’s eyes. Green and gorgeous. Beams from an emerald sun. Enough love to fill eternity.

Nathan. Nathan. Nathaniel…

He stood on the balcony of a hotel room, staring at a sky full of stars.

“Nathan!” I shouted.

He blinked then shook his head and leaned against the railing, staring into the drink he was holding.

I waved my hands in front of him. “I’m here! Please hear me. I need your help!”

He took a deep breath and stood up straight, lifting his face to the sky. “And the stars will weep for those who have fallen, haunted by the light that once shone beside them.”

“I’m here! It’s me!” I tried to shove him. “Feel me!”

He raised his glass to his lips.

Frustrated, I swung at him. My hand went through him, but his glass slipped and shattered at his feet. He stepped away from it and looked around the balcony.

I stayed close, hovering in front of his face. “Yes. It was me!”

He moaned, clasping his hands over his ears.

My body, or whatever I was, kept passing through his. “No. Don’t block me out! I need your help!”

He dropped his hands. “Stop haunting me.”

I tried grabbing his face, but it was impossible with no hands. I wanted to cry and scream all at once.

Rays of light and swirls of colors formed all around Nathan. It looked just like one of Louise’s paintings, the one I’d seen hanging in Nathan’s room. I imagined myself as a shimmering cloud of color and pressed myself against him, hugging him with all the desperation and fear inside me. “Please, Nathaniel, help me. River is going to murder me.”

He stared right at me. He looked where my eyes would’ve been if I really was in front of him.

“Please,” I begged.

He vanished.

I looked at the glass balcony doors in front of me. There was no reflection of me, no colors, no signs of life, just shattered glass glistening on the ground.

River’s sinister shouting jolted me back to Montezuma Well. “Where the hell did you come from?”

“What have you done to her?” Nathan asked with fierce rage. He appeared in front of me, studying me with fury in his eyes.

“Maryah’s about to be reunited with her real family.”

River barely finished his sentence before Nathan punched him, knocking him off his feet. River let out a guttural groan when Nathan crouched over him and hit him again.

A vapor trail of color followed every move they made.
Tracers.
I’d heard kids talk about hallucinations when they tripped on acid or mushrooms. They said you imagined things that weren’t real. I prayed I wasn’t imagining this. I begged for Nathan to be real.

River grabbed Nathan by the neck and the two of them rolled into the shadows. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them. Branches snapped. Their shoes raked and skidded though dirt and gravel. They grappled in the darkness. They sounded like rabid animals fighting to the death.

Then, silence.

Please don’t let Nathan be hurt
. What if River killed him?

After what felt like an eternity of eerie quietness, Nathan stepped into the pool of gold created by the flashlight.
Oh, thank god!

He rushed over and cupped my face in his hands. He still looked flawless. Definitely a hallucination. Nobody fights like that and comes away without a scratch.

“Maryah, can you hear me?” He ripped through the tape, trying to quickly peel it off me.

He looked so real. Seeing him should’ve sent my heart racing, but it thumped slow and steady while I sat motionless. The loud tearing of duct tape continued while I tried to scream to warn Nathan that River, all bloody and mangled, was creeping out of the dark behind him. He leaned over the duffel bag.
The gun!
Nathan had no idea there was a gun.

“Nathaaan!” River sounded as psychotic as he looked.

Nathan turned to face him and took several steps to the left of me. In a calm voice he said, “You’ll have to kill me to get to her.”

River coughed up blood and swayed on his feet. “How noble. Total ladies man, huh?”

“More of a man than you will ever be.”

“Don’t push it. I’m the one holding the gun!”

“Then shoot me.”

The gun fired but Nathan instantly disappeared. He reappeared just as fast in front of River. Then another gun shot rang through the air.

I thought my heart might explode. I waited for Nathan to fall. Instead, River groaned and slumped to the ground. The switch happened so fast I didn’t realize Nathan had the gun.

He emptied the remaining bullets, shoved it in the back of his pants and walked over to me then gently pressed my eyelids shut. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Nathan’s ragged breathing and the remaining tape being peeled away from my jacket almost drowned out River cussing and pleading for help. Nathan lifted me into his arms and carried me a few steps before placing me down again. He delicately opened my eyelids. “Can you hear me? You’re a fighter, Maryah. Fight to stay with me.”

This was real. I wasn’t going to die. Nathan put a cell phone to his ear, but never took his eyes off mine.

“Harmony, I’m at Montezuma—” I heard the murmur of Harmony’s voice on the other end. “How did you know?” Nathan asked. There was more murmuring. “Who’s with you?” More murmuring. “We’ll be in the parking lot. Hurry. I can’t call 911 until you get here with a vehicle.”

He whispered as he caressed my face. “I’ll only be gone for two seconds.”

Nathan returned with the blanket and wrapped it around me. He carried me up the stairway to the top of the well. I wanted to hug him but my arms wouldn’t work, so I just listened to him breathe. A few minutes later he set me down on the sidewalk by the parking lot. He sat, facing me, his knees on either side of mine. My ears buzzed, but they didn’t hurt.

“I have to keep you warm.” He rubbed his hands up and down my back and arms.

 
I thought a tear was forming in his eye, but then it glimmered with gold and silver. I concentrated on it, trying to figure out where the sparkle came from.

That’s when my world spiraled out of control.

At first there were only intense colors, like looking at his irises through a magical microscope. Every line, speck, and difference of color became life-sized. Incredible shades of blue, green, silver, and gold three-dimensional shapes danced around us. I didn’t want to look away, but he pulled me toward him and kissed my forehead.

I felt it. His warm lips against my skin. I could feel it!

A symphony of music sang through my veins. My body gave one involuntary jerk as rapture rushed through me. He hugged me and a beautiful song that slowly grew more familiar pulsed throughout my whole being.

Flashes of scenes played in my head: Nathan’s voice, his laugh, his love. Different places, different bodies, even different faces, but eyes that never changed—bottomless pools of detailed light that could never be mistaken for anyone else’s. They were memories,
my
memories of Nathan, of us. Louise had told my mother the truth.

The buzzing in my ears diminished to a faint ringing. My visions were choppy, but they were real. More joy than I ever thought possible coursed through me. I loved Nathan more than anything in this world. I had loved him for ages. The excitement made me convulse.

Nathan held me tighter until my body calmed. “I know it’s cold. It won’t be long.”

He pulled out his phone and after four beeps said, “My name is Nathaniel Luna. I’m in the parking lot of Montezuma Wells. A kid has been shot and another friend appears to be drugged and in shock. Please send help right away.”

Minutes later, the lights of Carson’s Mustang and Shiloh’s truck lit up the darkness. Chaos erupted all around us, but Nathan didn’t let go of me. Carson whooshed by us at sonic speed. Faith wrapped her arms around me. I was so happy to see everyone.

“Extreme happiness,” she said all perplexed. “I think she’s okay.” She let go and looked at me. “Oh sweetie, we were crazy worried. Your parents told Harmony you were here and that River was…ugh, I can’t even say it!”

My parents. They must’ve been horrified watching all of this.

Faith turned to Nathan. “We’ve been trying to reach you for days. Maryah knows everything. She’s not taking it well, but she knows.”

Nathan squinted and moved his face closer to mine. His jaw went slack and a cloud from his warm breath formed between us. I wanted to part my lips, to breathe him in.

“Does she remember anything?” he asked.

“No, nothing,” Faith whispered from behind me.

No!
I wanted to shout.
I do remember!

“How did you know she was here?” Faith asked.

Harmony yelled for Nathan from somewhere in the distance. “Long story.”
 
He squeezed my hands then disappeared. The traversing thing still shocked me.

I was trembling again. I wasn’t sure if it was from being overwhelmed, or shivering, but Faith had her arms around me in an instant. She yelled for Shiloh and he wrapped his arms around both of us.

“We love you too,” Faith said. “I know it’s cold, but hang in there.”

Nathan and Harmony came back and joined the group. Nathan explained they all needed to have the same story. He recited the details as sirens wailed in the distance.

“Maryah informed everyone that she was going out with River,” Nathan said. “The four of us were out late and witnessed River’s truck swerving on the road. We noticed Maryah in the passenger seat, followed them out here, and lost them on the unpaved trail. Upon arriving at the lot, I ran down to the well. You four remained at the top. You heard two gun shots—several seconds apart.”

Shiloh put his arm on Nathan’s shoulder. “I’ll say I went with you and witnessed it.”

“No,” Nathan said. “No one lies more than is critically necessary.”

“But, Nate,” Carson started, “River will tell the police about you appearing out of nowhere.”

Harmony waved her hand. “I forced tea down the bastard’s throat. They’ll assume he hallucinated. Remind me again why can’t we kill him?”

“We should call Dylan,” Faith said.

Nathan shook his head. “He’ll be too late. He can handle the repercussions later as needed.”

I couldn’t keep track of their conversation anymore. My thoughts whirled. My vision blurred. My eyes felt heavy, so heavy I couldn’t hold them open.

Next thing I knew, paramedics were shining lights into my eyes and asking me questions. Officers were talking to Nathan. Bright flashlights and the headlights of emergency vehicles lit up the parking lot. One cop carried the bagged thermoses we had drunk from and River’s gun. They rolled me away on a stretcher while an officer told Nathan to come to the station for questioning. Harmony volunteered to go too.

Faith insisted on riding in the ambulance with me and argued with the medics. “I’ve known her all my lives! She needs a friend right now.”

To anyone else it may have sounded like a mispronunciation if they noticed it at all. But I caught it. Not life—
lives
. I was anxious, wanting so badly to tell her what I’d seen, what I knew, how much I loved Nathan.

Faith hopped into the ambulance and held my hand. “It’s okay, Ma-Ma. Try to relax.”

Nathan’s voice echoed near my feet. “I’ll be at the station awhile. Look after her.”

My love for him overwhelmed me. I had slight sensation in my fingers, so I tried to squeeze Faith’s hand.

“Nathan,” Faith gasped. Her eyes danced between the two of us. “Love. She’s feeling an unbelievable amount of love.”

Nathan climbed in and leaned over me. I swallowed and it burned like hell, but at least feeling was returning to my muscles. I tried to get my lips and tongue to work so I could say three simple words to him. Three words were all I needed and I’d be satisfied, but I only managed a pathetic whimper.

“We have to get her to the hospital. Let’s go, kids.” The paramedic ordered.

Nathan brushed the side of my face with his thumb and my insides danced, ecstatic by his touch and that I could feel it. “See you soon.”

He disappeared from my view. I wanted to beg him not to leave me again, not to ever leave me. The ambulance doors shut and the medic hooked me up to a monitor.

Faith squeezed my hand, “What is it? What are you trying to say?”

Finally, I summoned enough strength to murmur two important words. “I remember.”

Maryah

Faith never left my side at the hospital. A couple nurses and a doctor came and went, but my motor function and speech were returning. I waited until the police officer finished taking my statement, and when he left the room, I turned to Faith.

“Nathan’s eyes, I could see for miles into his eyes. It's true—I love him!”

Faith’s face was practically glowing. “I can’t believe it. I kept undying faith it would happen, but now it seems so surreal.”

“How did we know each other?” I asked.

Her smile dropped away. “You don’t remember
me
?”

I shook my head.