Read Online Dream Runner by Gail McFarland - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gail McFarland
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something recognizable from the steady thrum, it comforted her to know that they were there…just out of reach, but there all the same. Not alone, she wanted to make them know that she heard, and tried to reach out to them.
So heavy… she mused, feeling herself nearer to the light. Willing herself forward, she was pulled hard, then stuck fast. Trying to see beyond the rising darkness, she wanted to push it aside to make her break. She wanted to run, and was terrified when her feet and legs refused to obey. Mouth stretched wide, she tried to scream. Fear claimed her completely when no sound left her body, and the voices swirled and rushed past her again. There was something wrong, and she knew it as she fell deeper, drowning in the darkness.
Marlea Kellogg tried to find her life for the second time that day. Again, the voices, and again, she saw the light, a bright, thin corona, arching like a cold, new moon, defined the darkness. Opening her mouth, trying to answer the voices around her, Marlea braced herself and scrambled for the light.
The light stretched and mounted in her vision, burning like white fire when she opened her eyes, blinding her, making her close them reflexively. Determined, knowing somehow that her real life lay on the other side of that light, Marlea fought to open her lids and then lay exhausted from the effort.
Something was wrong— control , she thought, why can’t I control this? Her sore, scratchy eyes moved crazily about the room. White walls and curtains, mixed clumsily with stainless steel, people in white with blue plastic basins and trays, and the whole place smelled like antiseptic.
Where is this?
The room slipped sideways, and Marlea moaned softly.
A pretty brown-skinned woman turned swiftly. She said something. Marlea knew that the woman in the white dress said something. She saw the woman’s lips move, but her voice was a part of the crowding rush. Marlea squeezed her eyes closed, then tried to open them. The effort nearly slid her back into the black tide.
“Lemme see her!”
Okay. Marlea stretched her eyes wide. I heard that.
A small woman with spiky black hair pushed past the first woman. Her face was panicked and her blue eyes were wreathed in dark circles. Marlea wondered if she had been in some kind of accident. Gently, the small woman’s pale fingers found Marlea’s. “How you doin’, sweetie?”
Marlea opened her mouth to tell her—at least she thought she did. She tried to speak, and heard nothing. She tried again, and pain slapped hard, traveling from her head to her chest and extremities. I’m not supposed to be feeling like this! She wanted to say the words; instead a ragged moan escaped into the air around her. Panic threatened to strangle her, and Marlea sucked hard for breath, feeling the pressure. She wanted to scream, “Help me,” but couldn’t find the way.
“It’s okay, Marlea. For real, it’s okay.”
“Ms. Belcher, if you please.” It was a white-jacketed man this time. His hands went to the little woman’s shoulders and moved her briskly to the side. The woman in the white dress offered a blue tray. Marlea’s eyes opened wider as the man’s hands moved to a tube at her side.
What are you doing? She hoped she had said the words aloud, but realized she hadn’t when a salty tang invaded her mouth, making her swallow. Feeling the edges of darkness curl over her like a thick and unwanted blanket, Marlea fought to stay where she was. Libby , she suddenly remembered, her mind swirling, and her eyes finding the black-haired woman’s. “Libby,” she whispered, and fell into the darkness.
Libby reached for her hand again, and was rewarded with a light squeeze of her fingertips as Marlea succumbed to the drugs the doctor had administered. Releasing Marlea’s fingers, she watched the nurse adjust the bedcovers.
“Ms. Belcher?” The doctor slipped an arm around Libby’s narrow shoulders and ushered her from the room.
The door closed
So heavy… she mused, feeling herself nearer to the light. Willing herself forward, she was pulled hard, then stuck fast. Trying to see beyond the rising darkness, she wanted to push it aside to make her break. She wanted to run, and was terrified when her feet and legs refused to obey. Mouth stretched wide, she tried to scream. Fear claimed her completely when no sound left her body, and the voices swirled and rushed past her again. There was something wrong, and she knew it as she fell deeper, drowning in the darkness.
Marlea Kellogg tried to find her life for the second time that day. Again, the voices, and again, she saw the light, a bright, thin corona, arching like a cold, new moon, defined the darkness. Opening her mouth, trying to answer the voices around her, Marlea braced herself and scrambled for the light.
The light stretched and mounted in her vision, burning like white fire when she opened her eyes, blinding her, making her close them reflexively. Determined, knowing somehow that her real life lay on the other side of that light, Marlea fought to open her lids and then lay exhausted from the effort.
Something was wrong— control , she thought, why can’t I control this? Her sore, scratchy eyes moved crazily about the room. White walls and curtains, mixed clumsily with stainless steel, people in white with blue plastic basins and trays, and the whole place smelled like antiseptic.
Where is this?
The room slipped sideways, and Marlea moaned softly.
A pretty brown-skinned woman turned swiftly. She said something. Marlea knew that the woman in the white dress said something. She saw the woman’s lips move, but her voice was a part of the crowding rush. Marlea squeezed her eyes closed, then tried to open them. The effort nearly slid her back into the black tide.
“Lemme see her!”
Okay. Marlea stretched her eyes wide. I heard that.
A small woman with spiky black hair pushed past the first woman. Her face was panicked and her blue eyes were wreathed in dark circles. Marlea wondered if she had been in some kind of accident. Gently, the small woman’s pale fingers found Marlea’s. “How you doin’, sweetie?”
Marlea opened her mouth to tell her—at least she thought she did. She tried to speak, and heard nothing. She tried again, and pain slapped hard, traveling from her head to her chest and extremities. I’m not supposed to be feeling like this! She wanted to say the words; instead a ragged moan escaped into the air around her. Panic threatened to strangle her, and Marlea sucked hard for breath, feeling the pressure. She wanted to scream, “Help me,” but couldn’t find the way.
“It’s okay, Marlea. For real, it’s okay.”
“Ms. Belcher, if you please.” It was a white-jacketed man this time. His hands went to the little woman’s shoulders and moved her briskly to the side. The woman in the white dress offered a blue tray. Marlea’s eyes opened wider as the man’s hands moved to a tube at her side.
What are you doing? She hoped she had said the words aloud, but realized she hadn’t when a salty tang invaded her mouth, making her swallow. Feeling the edges of darkness curl over her like a thick and unwanted blanket, Marlea fought to stay where she was. Libby , she suddenly remembered, her mind swirling, and her eyes finding the black-haired woman’s. “Libby,” she whispered, and fell into the darkness.
Libby reached for her hand again, and was rewarded with a light squeeze of her fingertips as Marlea succumbed to the drugs the doctor had administered. Releasing Marlea’s fingers, she watched the nurse adjust the bedcovers.
“Ms. Belcher?” The doctor slipped an arm around Libby’s narrow shoulders and ushered her from the room.
The door closed
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