Wanderer

Chapter 3-2

Sal felt as though she was bursting with happiness. She could feel Unity all around her, could feel her fellow Gifted. She could feel the comfort and the joy of it. She hadn’t realised just how badly she was suffering until that comfort returned.

She just luxuriated in the sensation for a long time, floating in the warmth of those around her. Finally she decided she had rested for long enough. She needed to find out how Unity had survived, and where it had been until now. She reached out to Unity, wanting to merge with it more fully, but it was elusive. Every time she drew near to a section it disappeared, vanishing like a puff of smoke.

Sal tried again and again, but it was as if Unity was refusing her attention. The peace she’d been feeling vanished, replaced by worry. What could she possibly have done to deserve this? Had she failed Unity in some way? Should she have stayed true? But how? What else could she possibly have done?

In desperation she reached out to some of her fellow Gifted, needing the reassurance they could offer, but they too were elusive, vanishing as she drew near. No… it was worse than that. They were drifting away. And so was Unity. Sal watched in horror as everything retreated from her, leaving her in a pool of darkness, all contact with the rest of her kind severed.

“No!” she shouted. “No! Don’t leave me! You can’t leave me!”

She tried to chase after… after anything or anyone, but she didn’t seem to be moving. She tried harder, but still she was moving slower than those she chased. It seemed she was hardly moving at all… right up until the moment she tripped over something and went flying forward, heading for a face-first meeting with the ground.

She never hit. The shock made her jump… and dragged her from her dream. She found herself lying on the bed, a blanket tangled around her legs and her breathing rapid. She let out a shuddering breath, her body coping with the blast of adrenaline and other chemicals burning their way through her system.

She just lay there for long seconds, not able to take in what was happening, then reality slowly intruded. She realised she was back on the Wanderer, and that her brush with Unity had simply been a very powerful dream. The contrast between how alone she felt now and how loved she’d felt in the dream dug into her soul and forced tears from her eyes.

She made herself cry silently, not wanting to wake Dash and deal with his doubts about Unity. He loved her. She knew that. And she probably loved him, though it was hard to tell after everything she had been though. Any feeling, even love, seemed pale in comparison to being one with Unity.

As she lay there, silently weeping, something crystallised within her. In a moment of powerful clarity she realised she needed to continue what Unity had started. She needed to find a way to experience that closeness again. She needed to seek out others who felt the same… then find a way to achieve it.