“Yes, but you have to wake up first.”
I reeled her in and pulled her against me, even as she tried to keep moving forward. I clutched her shoulders and shook them hard, harder than I would have liked to, but I reminded myself this was just a dream. And I had to jolt her into wakefulness. If I let her go wandering off, she would only keep dreaming.
Finally, my firmness worked. The scene around me faded away, along with River, and the feel of her shoulders in my hands. Now, with my eyes still closed, all I saw was blackness. River’s dream had ended.
Chapter 20: Ben
My eyes shot open. I looked around, my consciousness returning to the dark forest surrounding me.
Now that River was awake, I had to pray that firstly, she would remember the dream, and secondly, she would find it in herself to act on it. Sane people didn’t act on dreams. Why would they when dreams were, for the most part, nonsensical fabrications of the subconscious? I had to hope that, somehow, River would be able to sense that this dream was different. That I had infected her with my urgency.
I left my spot beneath the tree and began to race toward the Vale. Dashing along the streets, and arriving outside River and her family’s townhouse, I walked through the closed front door. As I entered the hallway, I heard voices coming from the kitchen at the end of the corridor.
I hurried through a second closed door to see Jamil and Nadia— who looked much better than when I’d seen her earlier— sitting around the kitchen table, bowls of pasta in front of them, while River stood leaning against the counter. She wore the same day clothes she had changed into earlier. Were it not for her mussed hair and bleary eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that she had just taken a nap. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she barely looked more refreshed than the last time I’d seen her.
I walked up to her and tried to take her hands in mine, as I would’ve been able to do in the dream. As my fingers drifted right through her, I stared down at her, watching every expression that crossed her face intently.
Come on, River. Come on. Remember what I told you.
She reached a hand up and clamped it around her shoulder before rolling her neck slowly. There was a restlessness about her demeanor, and that gave me hope.
“I didn’t mean to doze off, actually,” River murmured.
“You needed it, honey,” her mother said, eyeing her with concern. “Go sleep some more if you’re tired.”
River shook her head. “No,” she said. She left the counter and took a seat at the table, opposite Jamil.
“Won’t you eat something?” Nadia asked.
“Maybe a bit later,” River replied vaguely. She breathed out, leaning her elbows on the table and rubbing her fingers against her forehead. “I had a strange dream,” she admitted finally.
That’s it. Come on, River.
“What was it?” Jamil asked, glancing up curiously from his food.
“I saw Ben again… two Bens actually. One of them arrived back on the island in a submarine, and assured me that he was fine. But the other… he looked so pale, so ethereal. He told me that Jeramiah was on the island. He said that Jeramiah managed to get through the boundary with his witch companion, Amaya. And he said that Derek, Sofia and Aiden are in danger from the duo.”
She paused, looking from her brother to her mother for their reactions.
“That was the whole dream?” her mother asked.
“That was the gist of it… it ended with Ben shaking me and urging me to wake up. And then I did.” She released another breath, looking unnerved.
“Dreams can be the strangest things,” Nadia muttered, spooning pasta into her mouth.
“Come on, River!” I said, out loud this time.
Silence fell between the three of them.
“I mean,” River continued, “it was just a dream, but… isn’t it strange how I woke up just when he told me to? It was like I actually felt his urgency. I woke up in a panic, and I was sweating.”
“Why don’t you go talk to Derek and Sofia?” Jamil suggested, eyeing his sister, his fork paused mid-air. “Since they returned from their journey, you’ve wanted to go see them anyway, haven’t you?”
I couldn’t have felt more grateful to a person than I did to Jamil Giovanni in that moment.
River nodded. “Yes. I am going to go and talk to them. Now.”
Thank God.
Now, River, you need to hurry. You need to run like you’ve never run—
She got up from the table and headed for the door.
“Well,” her mother called after her, “there’s lots of food waiting for you when you return.”
“Thanks,” River murmured. She reached the front door and pulled on a pair of boots.