“The connection didn’t take. I was forced out. Your mind rebounded to an extent that I’ve never seen.”
“What does that mean? Rebounded? You’re not making sense.”
“It’s like your defenses slammed down by dropping a nuclear bomb on the surrounding area.”
“So, we need to try it again?”
A sick feeling started in my stomach. I didn’t know if I could take that kind of pain again. Burning in the sun wouldn’t have been near as bad.
“No, definitely not,” he said adamantly. “That would probably kill you and seriously injure me.”
Thank God. If that never happened again, it would be too soon.
It left me in the same situation as before, only weaker judging by the destruction to my mental forest.
“Then what do I do?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Please don’t say nothing. Please tell me you have a plan.
“I don’t know.”
I bent my head. Not what I’d wanted to hear at all.
I was dead. All that fighting to get home from Afghanistan, then fighting to manage this thing that had happened to me. It was all for nothing. All that struggle so I could burn to death chained in a basement. Talk about crappy endings.
His hand landed on my shoulder. “There may be a way for me to get you awake. It might be enough for you to move out of the sun’s path or at least try to seek shelter.”
It could also ensure that I stayed awake for my death. Something I would definitely have preferred to sleep through.
Still, survival was survival. I’d take my chances. I wasn’t one of those who planned a graceful exit from this plane of existence. There would be no going silently into that good night. Death would have to drag me kicking and screaming all the way.
“Let’s do this,” I said before I could lose my courage.
“This time instead of trying to push power into you while pulling some of yours out, I’ll just try to redirect yours. I don’t know how much time I can give you so move as quickly as you can.”
I nodded. I was ready.
He raised his hand and pressed against my chest. At first, I felt nothing, and I was sure whatever he was trying wasn’t working.
Then something shifted, unfurling and growing while pushing other things out of its way. The pressure grew and swirled, finding no outlet as it rose, like a tsunami coming ashore or a hurricane gathering force. My head pounded and something inside me buckled, my forest starting to weave and swim.
I tried to form words. To tell him to stop. That this was killing me, but my brain had suddenly lost control of everything else.
I drooped, darkness spiraling out of the sky to consume everything around me. Perhaps the sun wasn’t necessary after all.
With a pop, something inside broke, spilling me out of my forest.
I opened my eyes, blinking at the basement wall.
I was awake.
Hot. My right side was so hot smoke was beginning to curl up into the air.
The sun. Needed to get out of the sun.
I rolled over and crawled as far as the chain would allow away from the deadly beams.
Damn. That was close.
