See How She Runs (The Chronicles of Izzy #1)(20)

He walked back over toward me and placed his finger under my chin tilting me to face him.

“Make no mistake Izzy, I do not see you as the child I left." He looked at me a moment longer with a fire burning in his eyes before releasing me and heading out the door once more. I could swear that I heard him mutter something about complications before he left.

Alone with the unspoken promises in Kennan’s eyes, I was forced to distract myself with something mundane like the dishes. I stood up and moved into the kitchen, taking my plates with me. As I got to the sink, I was struck by a wave a nausea so strong I doubled over, dropping and shattering the dish . Just as I felt the wave of nausea subside, my head suddenly felt as though every synapse was firing simultaneously. I yelled out as the overwhelming pain threatened to pull me under. I fell to the floor as my consciousness slipped to somewhere far away.





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TEN





There was screaming. Everywhere I looked there were people running, horrified. I looked around and saw that I was standing in the middle of a highway. Directly in front of me was a bridge, or at least there used to be one. In its place was a yawning chasm breathing fire and smoke. The wide gap was accompanied by a cacophony of wails that spoke of unimaginable loss and horror. I attempted to talk to the people surrounding me, but it seemed I was but a phantom in all of the chaos.

I got confused. Why could no one hear me? How did I even get here? I yelled as loudly as I could in an effort to attract someone’s attention. How could I be saved if no one could even see me?

I moved to the edge of the chasm and looked across to the other side. There, standing in all of the wreckage, with a smile upon his face, was Xavier. He looked across the divide and smiled. His smile chilled my blood and seeped into my soul, turning it to frost.

Then he whispered, “Tell me where you are. You can be with your mother once more. Don’t fight me, Little One. We don’t have to be enemies."

I had no time to think how I could hear his whisper across such a great distance. Instead I turned to flee. My only concern was getting as far from him as I possibly could. As I ran, I glanced back behind me to make sure I was not being pursued.

I ran into something solid that wrapped its arms around me. I screamed out, sure that Xavier had caught me.

“I’ve got you, Izzy. Come back to me," the wall said.

I looked up to see not Xavier, but Kennan.

“It’s not real, Izzy. It is but a vision. Calm yourself and come back to me. Reach for the now. You can see it. Just reach out and grab it.”

I looked around, trying to find what he was talking about, and I saw a glowing path. It was like a stream, flowing through the vision. I waded into it and I felt myself rush away.





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I was lying on the kitchen floor, disoriented. I felt the sorrow of the wreck, the memories pressed in on me. I looked up to find Kennan, sitting on the floor leaning against the cabinets. His giant hand gently stroked my hair. My mouth felt full of cotton, causing the formation of words to be a challenge.

“What happened?”

“You had a vision. I am so sorry I was not there when you went in. I got there as fast as I could." I noticed the look of strain on his face, and wondered how much it cost him.

“How?" the only word I was able to utter. I hoped that he was able to understand what I was asking without much more explanation. I was afraid that my mouth might have quit working all together at this point.

“If you are asking how I got in, well to be honest I don’t understand how it works. I know that I have been witness to your dreams since you were a child. The only ones I can’t see are those between you and your mother. That is how I knew you were still having the visions, dreams, whatever you want to call them about her. Anytime you would have them, I would be unceremoniously kicked to the curb. But as to how I physically got there today, well that has never happened before. I came in when I heard you scream, and you were shaking on the floor. It took a lot to get there, but I think next time it will be easier. I had to get you back. I told you, I will come for you, always," he said, while still gently stroking my hair.

“Did you see him?" I asked, the fear evident in the shaking of my voice.

“Who? All I saw was the bridge collapse and you in a disoriented panic.”

“He was there Kennan, I don’t know how. Maybe he jacked into my mom’s vision or something, but he was there. He told me not to fight him. He promised that I could be with my mom again." Tears began streaming down my face once more. There had to be some limit to what a person was able to cry in one day. This was just getting out of hand.

“I did not see him. You have to know that it is lies. You know that right?" his voice gently pleaded.

“I know. I am not going to say the thought of being with her is not tempting. I would be lying to say I don’t want to be surrounded by her warmth once more. But I know I would end up strapped to a machine just like her. What do we do about the wreck I saw?" Changing the subject seemed to be for the best. Repress and move forward.

“Did you see anything that would help you know what date it was or where the bridge was located?”

“No, I was too panicked. I did not even know I was in a vision. It was so real. How am I supposed to help people if I don’t even know I am having visions?”