“Welcome to ParaSci 101,” a familiar voice announced. Fin stood at the front of the plane and held in his hand a CB-looking microphone connected to the plane’s PA system.
“My name is Pádraig, and I’ll be your course instructor. If you didn’t already figure it out, you’re asleep, and this is a dream. Right now, our souls are in the Aether, which is what you see and hear and smell and feel all around you. Pay attention, because you’ll never share a dream with a living soul again, unless, like me,” he said in a voice laced with cynicism, “you’re lucky enough to ride on board theTraumzeugover and over.”
A hand went up among the students.
“What?” Fin said to the boy in a way that let him know it was not the time for questions.
“I can’t feel my hands!”
“You justraisedyour hand, doofus,” Fin told him, and another hand shot up.
Fin dropped the microphone, closed his eyes, and pinched his nose. “No more questions,” he said stiffly. Then he looked up. “In fact, everybody shut your mouths.”
When there was silence, he proceeded without the mike.
“Normally, the Aether messes with your memory. You don’t always bring all you know in, and you don’t always remember everything you’ve experienced here once you leave.
“This Luftzeug is a special piece of equipment used by the college and the US military to study the Aether. It allows those on board to share a common dream space, to take data, and most importantly, to remember our observations.”
Fin paused and looked around at each student until his eyes fell on Hailey. Smiling at her, he continued.
“Now, all of you listen up,” he barked. “It is very important that none of you panic.”
He looked directly at the guy who couldn’t feel his hands.
“If you do panic, you risk dragging us all into your own personal nightmare. If any of you think you feel a panic coming, just close your eyes and count to eight, alright? I don’t want to see your zombies or watch your teeth fall out…and I certainly don’t want to see any of you naked.”
His eyes found Hailey again.
“Most of you, anyway,” he said, and he winked at her.
Hailey’s chin dipped and her ears burned, but to her relief, nobody paid attention. The others wore expressions ranging from concern to alarm. Looking around, she noticed at least three students wide-eyed and close to hyperventilating, but Hailey felt perfectly at ease.
Until the man-eating spiders crept in through the ceiling.
“Ah, shit,” she heard Fin mutter, and a pandemonium inside the Luftzeug ensued.
Trying to stay calm, Hailey watched the spiders with increasing interest. They seemed more confused than aggressive, she told herself, though one had lifted a student with its hairy legs and another was scampering in Hailey’s direction.
She closed her eyes and had counted to three when a powerful clamp gripped her shoulders and jerked her aside.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing in a forest outside the Luftzeug, listening to the muffled chaos coming from inside.
Turning around, she realized she stood in the woods of her favorite childhood place and collapsed on the soft grass, breathing in the crisp mountain air and watching violet skies swirl above her.
“How did you escape theTraumzeug?” The Envoy tilted his head as he appeared in the grass next to her.
Hailey bolted upright and stared at him speechless for several seconds.
“Asher,” she breathed, as his name dawned on her, and her belly fluttered. Taking a moment to gaze into his gorgeous eyes, she smiled uncertainly. “I would have guessed that you pulled me outside.”
“If you hadn’t disappeared, I might have. It is exceptionally rare for a human to find its way out of theTraumzeug.” His gaze fell on her right eye for a moment and then her left.
“I find you…” he drew a sharp breath. “…surprising and…lovely,” he said as if he struggled to find the right words.
“Asher,” Hailey repeated. “You’re on that plane with me, aren’t you?” She pointed at the Luftzeug, which suddenly tilted into a steep nose-down attitude.
Hailey jumped up and stumbled back.
