Obsession 2

Chapter 13- Just a Dream

"It's been years since we've been like this," Sadie says as we lie in bed together.

I've been holding onto her for dear life, since the moment I found her. I know Sammy is tracking her as we speak. He'll find us sooner or later. This time though, I'm not letting him take her without a fight.

"It's been about four years now, right?" I whisper.

"Yeah...it's really not that long, but yet, it feels like an eternity. I know we agreed to stay friends after we broke up, but we didn't really talk much after that. I was worried when I saw you again, things would be awkward. But they weren't," she says, turning over to face me. "It's like we just picked up where we left off."

I smile softly at her while she searches my eyes.

"I didn't believe we would make it through four years of long distance. And maybe we wouldn't have, but...I regret not at least trying. I gave up without a fight," she says, her voice shaking as if she's about to cry.

"We were just kids then. You didn't know what you wanted," I remind her. "Neither did I."

"I'll never trust anyone the way I trust you. And I know no one will ever take care of me the way you do. I thought I was going to die and you swooped in and saved me, like you always have...since we were just kids..."

I pull her closer, hugging her tight. "I'm only doing my job."

Within minutes, Sadie drifts off to sleep in my arms, no longer worried or afraid. I watch her as she sleeps, studying each of her features carefully- her fully, pouty lips, the curve of her jaw, her cute button nose.

"Mikey?" her sleepy voice calls out, making me smile.

"Yeah?" I whisper.

"Can you stop staring at me like that? You're freaking me out."

I chuckle, turning over on my back and staring up at the ceiling. "Sorry."

Sadie goes back to sleep, but my body doesn't seem to be shutting down for the night. Does the curse mean I no longer have to sleep? If so, I guess it'll be a lot easier for me to keep Sammy away. It'll also give me a lot of uninterrupted time to figure out how to get my hands on him. If I ever have a chance at making things right, I have to convince Sammy to give up his power and go back to living his normal life. I feel like it should be an easy thing to do, but after experiencing this thrilling power myself only for a few hours, I know it'll be a lot harder than I want it to be.

I snap out of my thoughts when I hear my name. I sit up and look around the dark room, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Mikey."

This time, I'm sure I heard it. It kind of sounds like Sammy's voice, but maybe that's just what I want to hear.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake and the walls of the house start crumbling around me. A thick cloud of dust fills the air, causing me to temporarily go blind. I cover my face with my arm, trying to look around for Sadie, but I can't see a thing.

I begin to cough when the dust creeps into my lungs. I turn over and push myself up on my knees, feeling around for Sadie. I don't hear her, so maybe she's buried beneath the rubble.

"Sadie!" I choke out between coughs. "Sadie, where are you?!"

Finally, everything goes still. I stand up and look around as the dust settles, revealing a gloomy looking stone bridge, covered in vines.

I must be dreaming...

But I know this place. I don't know if I've been here before or only heard about it, but it feels familiar to me. There's mountains surrounding the bridge from every angle and there's no sign of anyone else, though I could've sworn I heard someone calling my name earlier. I thought it was Sammy, but maybe it's because I wanted it to be him so badly. I want to find him and end this, once and for all.

"Little brother."

I look around and spot Sammy standing on the other side of the bridge. I start across, but as soon as I step onto it, the stones begin to crumble beneath my feet. I jump back, making it to the ground just before I slip and fall into whatever the hell is under this bridge.

I peek over the edge, but all I see is darkness and mist. There's sounds though...a painful groaning of some sort as if someone down there is hurt.

"Hello?" I call out into the darkness, hoping it's not Sammy.

I don't see anything, so I call out again. "Hello!"

A ghostly white hand reaches up and grabs onto my arm, and a badly decomposed face appears out of the mist. I scream out and push the creature away, realizing who it is just as she disappears back into the fog.

"Olivia..."

The groaning below becomes even louder. I cover my ears, but it doesn't muffle the sound at all. It's all I can hear.

"It's every soul waiting to be released from the curse," a voice says from behind me.

I turn around and stare up in surprise at Leo. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm on your side, remember? Over there, across the bridge, that's where the darkness lies. All of the tormented souls below are waiting to be released before it's too late," he explains.

"What do you mean...released?" I ask.

"Only you can release them, Michael. Only you can set things right."

"How?! How do I do that?!" I ask in frustration.

"You have to get Sammy over here," he replies, staring out over the void as if in a trance.

"How do I do that? The bridge is gone!"

"You have to rebuild it," he says before vanishing into thin air.

I look at the deep gorge that divides the Hikara from the Yami. I know nothing about bridge making, but something tells me Leo didn't mean a literal bridge. Sammy is the key to re-building this bridge, and uniting the Hikara and the Yami into one again.

That's how I set things right. That's how I release the souls that are trapped here...

"Mikey!"

I look around, swearing that was Sadie's voice I just heard. Is she here too?

"Mikey!"

"Sadie!" I call back, cupping my hands around my mouth to make my voice louder. "Sadie, where are you?!"

"Mikey!"

Suddenly, everything vanishes and I'm surrounded by darkness once again.

When I open my eyes, I'm in Kai's guestroom and thankfully, Sadie is still lying next to me.

It was only a dream, but somehow, I know it means something. I've got to build a bridge between Sammy and me. Should be easy, right? I mean, he's only super human and I have no idea where he is. I've tried tracking him, the way I did Sadie, but I can't find his scent. When I found him last time, it was because he had her. I found her scent, not his. That means it'll be easy for him to find me while finding him will be like finding a needle in a haystack.

I can't just wait around for him though. I can't give him time to hurt someone else and rip another family to shreds. I know he wants out of this curse, he told me so himself. I've just got to catch him at the right moment.

Damn. If only I had known back when he came to me what I know now. We could've ended everything, right then and there. But I had no idea how to explain what was happening to him back then. Even now, after all I've learned from Kai and Leo, I still don't know what the hell is really going on.

I sit up and stare out the window in front of the bed. I don't know what day it is, or even what month, for that matter. Ever since Sammy has been on the loose, I haven't been able to focus on anything else.

Even my dreams are starting to be affected by this curse. Did it mean something? Or is my brain just simply not able to think about anything else right now- conscious or sub-conscious? I can't really be apart of the Hikari if Sammy is part of the Yami. We're from the same bloodline. Even if our mother came from both, the likelihood of this curse affecting Sammy and me in different ways seems...well, impossible.

Yet, here I am. I'm able to resist Sadie because my need to keep her safe trumps my need to mate with her. I don't know if that makes me Hikari, or just a sucker who still has feelings for his high school girlfriend.

"Hey," Sadie's sleepy voice says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I look down at her and smile. "Good morning."

She sits up next to me and looks around, as if she's only just now remembering where she's at. "I guess I haven't missed anything."

"No, nothing."

She looks at me, studying my face carefully. "You look tired. Didn't you sleep?"

"For a while," I shrug. "Don't worry about me, I'm okay."

She nods, though she keeps studying me. Her eyes meet mine and she forces a small smile. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. I don't know how you found me, or...how we ended up here so quickly, but...I'm grateful, nonetheless."

I smile in response.

"If you're also cursed, why don't you have the same urge to mate with me?" she asks, catching me by surprise.

I chew my lip nervously, not exactly sure how to respond. I should just be honest with her. I should tell her my love for her is more powerful than any curse and nothing could ever make me want to hurt her. Of course, I'm far too much of a coward to say that.

"I don't know. All I know is saving you was my only focus and priority, so I didn't allow myself to get caught up in other things," I finally answer.

"I thought maybe I just didn't do it for you anymore."

I scoff humorously. "You definitely still do."

She gives me a quizzical glance, so I quickly start to backpedal.

"I mean, you know...I still...find you attractive..." I say, nervously clearing my throat.

"I'm only messing with you, Mikey," she says, nodding to my groin area. "I know you still want me."

While she gets up out of bed, I can only stay frozen in place with my mouth hanging open. I guess I got so caught up in that dream, I didn't even realize I'm sporting a full hard-on right in front of my ex-girlfriend, whom I just shared a bed with.

"Wait, where are you going?" I ask her when she opens the door.

"To the bathroom. Is that okay, or do you have to escort me there too?"

"No, it's fine. I'm just looking out for you. I'm sorry..."

She smiles. "Don't be. I love it."

I smile back at her, my heart beating out of control. "So um, the bathroom is right next door."

"Yeah, I know. I used it last night," she smirks.

"You did?" I ask in surprise. I didn't even notice. And that worries me.

She nods, furrowing her brows as if she's catching on to my sudden panic. "Are you okay?"

I nod, even if I know she's not buying it. I don't want her to worry though, so I pull myself together and make my nod a little more reassuring.

"Okay," she chuckles, leaving the room.

As soon as she's gone, I hurry to the door and stand there, listening to Sadie in the next room. It feels like intrusion, but what other choice do I have? I can't let my brother sneak in and take her away from me again.

The bathroom door opens and I dart back over to the bed. Sadie comes back into the room and sits on the bed next to me, snuggling back up into the covers.

"So who is Olivia?" she asks after a while.

"Olivia?" I repeat.

"You kept calling her name last night in your sleep."

My heart drops as visions of my dream creep back into my mind. I saw Olivia. I saw her begging me to help her. That's why I was calling her name.

"I don't know...just a dream, I guess," I shrug.