A Spiritual's Mark

Chapter 11: A Dream

-Hope-

“F*ck!” I had never really cursed before, but I was starting to say it all the time. Lara kicked my ass over and over, sending me to the ground to taste the sweet rubber of the mat.

“That’s all you got?” she taunted me and smiled down at me.

“You punched me!” I exclaimed and twisted my body so I could look at her.

“I didn’t even put that much power behind it.”

“So you could hit me harder?!” I inquired.

“Much harder,” she declared proudly.

“My face is throbbing!”

She chuckled and walked over to me, reaching a hand down. I hesitated at first, but then I saw an opening. I grabbed her hand, tripped her, and then rolled us around, wrapping my hand around her throat, but not squeezing. I lifted my free hand, clenching it hard, and held it as a threat in the air.

“Do you surrender?” I inquired with a smug smile.

Lara looked a bit surprised I had been able to trick her, but instead of letting me intimidate her, she just grabbed my wrist, twisted it, and forced me let go of her. Then she rolled us around so she was on top of me, trapping my hands on both sides of my face.

“You really shouldn’t show any mercy,” she advised me, winking at me.

“I don’t think James would like to see you on top of another female,” Maddy remarked.

We both turned our heads and saw her standing close to the mat with her arms crossed and a teasing smile on her lips. Evan didn’t really like her leaving the territory, but he allowed the occasional visits over here because she had told him quite clearly that it drove her insane to be trapped like that.

“Well, nothing freaky has happened,” Lara said before looking at me. “Yet.”

I looked up at her, confused, only to see the teasing smile spread on her lips.

“Calm down, Hope. James is all for me,” she teased me as she got off me and walked over to Maddy.

I slowly got back up on my feet, feeling how my body ached everywhere.

“You look like you have taken quite the beating,” Maddy remarked.

“Something like that,” I acknowledged, moving my jaw from side to side, checking if it was still functional.

“Come, let us get some ice for that,” Lara said, waving us along.

We both followed her through the house and into the kitchen. I groaned as I sat down on one of the stools by the kitchen island. It hurt everywhere.

“Here,” Lara said, throwing a small bag of ice over to me. I placed it directly on the side of my face while looking at the two other females. They were smiling at me, with Lara looking really proud.

“Happy that you punched me?” I questioned.

She shrugged.

“Happy that I am teaching you something, and you are learning.”

“Wonderful,” I said sarcastically.

“You are making progress!” Maddy encouraged. “Be proud.”

“I can taste the mat in my dreams,” I told her.

That made them both laugh, and I couldn’t help but smile as well. I had had my fears about leaving Hunter’s territory. Angela and Harper had become my friends, but I had made new ones now. It didn’t mean I didn’t still miss Phoenix, but slowly, day by day, I was getting better.

“What does it taste like?” Maddy teased me.

“Defeat.”

They laughed again as Lara came over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“You are getting better and better every time. Don’t think you are doing this for nothing,” she told me.

I smiled a little at her, but even though I was getting better, I feared I would never completely find my old self.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I said, getting up from my seat.

I walked back to my room and found some new clothes before I went to the bathroom, letting the water warm up. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a pair of training leggings and a sports bra, and it was clear I had some bruises around my body, but nothing serious. My long hair was braided to keep it away from my face. I had quickly learned what a distraction it was when I was fighting.

“What am I doing?” I pondered.

I wished she had an answer. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be here, but I had this nagging feeling about going back. I knew why. It was because I hoped Phoenix would be there. Even though Hunter had promised to call me when he appeared, I had this idea that he wouldn’t because Phoenix had told him not to. So maybe if I got on a plane and flew back, I would find him in that damn castle. But at least if he was there, I could finally end things between us, because that was what I wanted, right?

***

It’s cold, so cold, all around me, and dark. I look down to see that I am not wearing any shoes. Where are my shoes? I look up again. I see myself trapped in a narrow hallway. Where am I? What is this place? Suddenly, I hear a scream. It is so horrifying that I can’t even describe it. Who is screaming?

I take a step forward. My legs are shaking. I barely feel like I can stand, but I keep walking and walking, the screams turning louder and louder. Something tells me it is a female screaming. The high pitch of the voice indicates that it is. Why is she screaming? Who is she? I get to a corner, where I can either walk ahead or down another hallway. I know the screams are coming from the hallway right ahead, but something pulls me around the corner and down the new one.

Why did I change direction? Someone is screaming and needs help! I have to go and help them. Even though I don’t know how. I am not wearing any shoes, and only the dress my sisters and I usually wear. It is thin and doesn’t provide me with much warmth. I have not worn it since I left Hunter’s territory. I am not that person anymore. The dress is too much of a symbol. A symbol of who I once was.

“Hello?” My voice sounds so strange, like it has an echo.

“Hello?!” I call again.

No one answers, so I continue to walk slowly through the hallways. Yet I freeze as another scream cuts through the air. I look over my shoulder, but there is no one behind me. Why am I walking away from the sounds? I should be helping her. I should be going back! Why do I continue to walk ahead? I can’t stop myself. I just keep taking step after step after step until...

Suddenly, I freeze. My feet won’t walk anymore. I am trapped in this exact spot. I look around. I am in the middle of the hallway, on my right side there is an empty cell, and on my left... somehow, I know there is a cell there too, but the bars that should usually keep someone in aren’t there. It is like it is invisible.

“What is this?” I exclaimed.

Suddenly, I notice something in the dark corner of the cell. It is a person, a male whose head is turned away from me. He is slumped against the wall, his legs spread out in front of him, and his hands are resting on his lap. He looks defeated and is wearing nothing but a pair of dirty and bloody pants.

“Who are you?” I ask.

He doesn’t say anything. He just keeps sitting there, not moving. I take a step closer, but he still doesn’t move.

“Can’t you hear me?! Who are you?”

He doesn’t say anything.

“Where am I?! What is this place?!” I asked, but still nothing...

I am tired of this, so I force myself over to him and crouch down beside him. I reach out so I can touch him, but before I do, he turns his head, looking right at me with those dark eyes I have dreamt of since I saw them looking at me for the first time.

“Phoenix!” I stumble backwards, shocked to see him. He doesn’t seem to notice my presence, but he is still somehow looking at me. I can’t describe it, nor can I describe the state I have found him in. It looks like he has been tortured.

“Hope... help... me...” he pleads.

I try to reach out to him, but I can’t seem to go to him. It is like I am being held back by an invisible force.

“Phoenix!” I yell. “No!”

I sat up, the sweat ran from my body, and the sheets clung to me. I was panting, still trapped by the dream. It couldn’t be real, right? I mean, it couldn’t. No, he called me by my name. He didn’t know my name. It was just a dream, I told myself, and yet, I couldn’t fall asleep again. Something about it was just too real.