Luke stands there, staring at the creature as it approaches. The scene reminds Lucy of a horror movie. The killer's movements are slow and methodical, yet he still catches his victims. How does the killer always catch up?
"Luke, what the hell? We have to move, now!" She pulls at him again, but it's as if he's planted in cement.
The alligator's mouth opens, revealing its sharp, blood-stained teeth. It will rip them apart piece-by-piece.
Luke's voice comes out low and monotone, like a zombie. "What's the point? What's the point of any of it?"
His hopelessness crashes into Lucy, pulling her down with him. No! She can't let him go. She grabs his arm and uses all of her strength to dislodge him from whatever is holding him.
The alligator approaches. Its mouth gapes wide.
Lucy can almost feel the sharp tips cutting into her skin... but no, not hers. Luke!
"Luke!" she screams. Tears stream down her face.
The alligator grips Luke's foot between its massive jaws, and blood spurts out. The alligator grinds Luke's ankle until it's red and raw with bits of bone sticking out.
Luke does nothing—says nothing—as the alligator pulls him into the lake.
"No, no, no, no!" Lucy can't process this, can't believe this. It can't be happening. She sobs and looks around for a weapon—something, anything, to stop the monster from stealing her brother. She can't say killing, can't face that. No, Luke's not dead. He's just underwater, waiting for her to save him.
Suddenly a gun appears in her hand. Perfect. She searches for the alligator, but the lake ripples placidly. Finally, a bit of tale splashes up. Lucy sees the beast in the water, and aims at where its heart should be, trying to avoid the mouth and her brother. She shoots, over and over, emptying her gun into the water.
The alligator disappears.
Her heart races faster and faster. She can't breathe, can't think. All she can do is react. She splashes into the shallow water and calls out, "Where are you? Luke? Please! Splash or something!"
She pauses to listen. The river is still and deathly quiet. No, not deathly. She won't use words like that. Not with Luke down there. But then the water bubbles as something slowly surfaces. "Luke? That you?"
Fear surges through her. If it's Luke, she needs to grab him before he drowns. If it's the alligator, she'll die.
She's willing to risk it. She moves forward, set to either run or grab.
Her breath hitches. A hand. "Luke!"
She darts forward and grabs him, and starts pulling him to shore. His hand feels cold, too cold. She can't get his head above water.
His whole body floats up, pale and ghostly.
She drags him in, not seeing—refusing to see—the rest. But she can't look away, or deny what's right in front of her.
Luke. His chest full of bullet holes.
Dead.
Lucy killed him.
She screams.
***
Lucy jolted awake. A dream. It was just a dream. Relief poured through her.
A familiar voice called to her. "Lucy, Lucy." She responded to it, cautiously, moving slowly to assess her whereabouts. Her subconscious trusted that voice.
Desirai lay next to her. They both rested in a large, comfortable bed in a fancy house.
The mansion.
"Des, it's you!" Lucy gave her a hug. "Oh my God, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. I don't even know what's going on! I've had the craziest dreams! First, Luke and I were stranded in this crazy jungle, and then Luke was killed by an alligator. I'm just so glad to be home."
Desirai smiled sadly. "Lucy, you're still dreaming. I brought you here to show you something."
Lucy frowned. Right. Des is a dream-walker. She'd given Sam important information about Rent-A-Kid security once, before they took down the whole facility.
So, what part was real? Not Luke dying; that couldn't be. Looking back, none of the dreams seemed especially desirable. They were all nightmares, so where was her body?
The dream world Desirai created felt so warm and happy, Lucy didn't want to ever leave.
Des smiled. "I finally found you. How are you?"
What to say? "I'm good, I guess. We're on our mission to save the kids, right?"
Des nodded. "Yes."
"Okay then, I guess we're still working out the details on that." Why did it feel so hard to distinguish reality from dream? This inability to access her own life scared Lucy more than all of her scary dreams. Well, almost more.
But Lucy couldn't stay scared in Desirai's dream world; too much happiness and joy lived there.
Des reached for Lucy. "Come, I have something exciting to show you. You're going to love it."
Lucy couldn't imagine what it could be, but she allowed the girl to lead her through a door and into a brightly lit room full of life and golden light.
Several people stood around a bed. Is someone sick? No, that wouldn't be happy.