But then the hologram also made me remember the complete embarrassment I’d endured when he caught me gawking. The same broad smile spread wide across his face. I remembered stuttering like an idiot, trying to cover my humiliation. But he saw right through me. He noticed me noticing him, and called me on it. He’d told me later that that moment gave him the courage to kiss me later in the park. It was that moment when our relationship reached the next level.
I reached out, my hand passing straight through the hologram.
“I love you. I miss you so much.” My heart ached. It felt like it would explode.
I heard a voice call my name. Frozen in place, I listened.
“Abi? Abi where are you?” a panicked voice cried.
It was the younger Danielle. “I’m here, Danielle.”
“Abi, help me,” she wailed. “The monster is here. I’m scared.”
“I’m coming,” I yelled back.
“Please hurry.” She let out a scream and everything muted.
What was I supposed to do? I had no idea how to jump from my mind to hers. I’d never done it before; I didn’t even know how to start.
There had to be a way… Dr. Simon did it with us.
I thought back to a time in the government bunker, when Dr. Simon had told me to come and find him. The way I found him was following a path from my mind to his. But I’d needed his connection. He helped me connect our paths.
“Danielle, are you there?” I asked. “I’m a little lost and need your help. You have to help me find you.”
“How?” she sobbed.
“I need you to concentrate on creating a path to me so that I can find you. Can you do that?”
“I don’t know how.”
Dammit. I didn’t know how either. It must have been a willing of the mind.
“Try to imagine creating a light that will reach me. A light that will show me the way to get to you.”
I waited, saddened as I watched Finn’s hologram fade and disappear.
“Danielle, can you send the light to me?” I repeated, but she didn’t answer. That made me start to worry. “Danielle?”
In the distance, ahead of me, a beam of golden light slithered along the ground.
“You did it! I found it.”
When she didn’t respond again, I sprinted down the path, following the golden light toward her. But the further I went, the pathway became more and more twisted. Her mind knew I was coming and was trying, to twist the light to confuse me.
I glanced into the distance and noticed a small beam of light, the size of a flashlight, shooting straight up into the air. I decided to keep my eyes focused on the light, and off of the chaos around me.
As everything around me began to crumble away, disintegrating into nothingness, I dove forward, stretching my arms in front like Supergirl. Shocked, I flew, my body propelling toward the tiny beam of light. As I reached it, my body put on the brakes, halting me in midair.
All that remained were me and the beam of light.
Like magic, I was lowered and put back on my feet—freaking awesome—and walked toward the beam of light ten feet away. I thought the worst was gone, and then I stood above the hole and looked down. Every hair on my body stood on end.
Hundreds of Arvies lined the sides of the tunnel. Their milky eyes were filled with hate. Sharpened nails and teeth were reaching and snapping, ready to sink into my flesh; their growls were deafening.
What the hell was this madness?
“Danielle?” I called down the hole, but she didn’t respond.
To say I was afraid was an understatement. But I knew I had to find her, and the only way was to go through a freaking horrifying Arvy filled tunnel.
A cold sweat, followed by chills, blanketed my body. My breath was so quick I had to slow it down, or I’d pass out. I was seriously having second thoughts.
But I’d made a promise. I’d told her I’d be there if she ever needed me. I couldn’t back down, even though I was scared to death.
I stepped toward the edge of the hole, sucked in a deep breath, shut my eyes tight, and jumped in. I plummeted down the hole filled with ear-piercing screams.
I could feel their nails tearing my flesh, and their teeth sinking deep into me. I screamed as excruciating pain throbbed through my entire body. They were torturing me. Mutilating me. But I kept my eyes closed. I kept them shut tight, praying it would soon end, reminding myself that this wasn’t real.
But the pain I felt was real. Too real, and I was on the brink of passing out.
Then, through the screaming, through the pain, and through the madness, I heard Finn’s voice whisper softly in my ear.
“You’re stronger than you know. Hold on.”
“I won’t give up!” I screamed out loud.
My feet hit the ground and the pandemonium hushed—the agonizing pain stopped. I opened my eyes and realized I was standing in Danielle’s garden. I looked around. Everything seemed fine. It made me wonder what was scaring her so badly.
I lifted my arms and checked my body which felt like it was on fire moments ago, and it was fine. Like nothing had ever happened. There were no scratches, no bites, nothing.
“Danielle?” I called. “Danielle, I’m here. Where are you?” The place was different. It looked the same, but it felt odd somehow.
Something strange was going on.
I knew she was hiding nearby. I didn’t know how, but I could feel her.
“Danielle?” I called out again. “It’s Abi. I’ve come to help you.”
She wasn’t responding, so I decided to walk around and look for her. Then, I noticed a tree that had not been there the last time. It was larger than the rest, and its girth was considerably wider. I made my way to it, dragging my fingers along the soft bark until my hand slipped into a hollowed out area. A hologram was projected over a hole, concealing whatever was inside.
I knelt on my hands and knees and stuck my head into the hollow of the tree. Inside, huddled in the back, was Danielle. Her body was trembling, her knees were pulled up to her chest, and her forehead was resting on her knees. As I entered in, I heard her weeping.
“Danielle?” I said her name softly, as not to startle her.
Her head popped up, and her eyes widened. She screamed hysterically.
Oh crap.
I crawled into her hiding space and grabbed her arms.
“Danielle, it’s me. It’s Abi.” I pulled her into a hug. “It’s going to be okay. I’m here. I promised you I’d come.”
She finally settled down and looked into my eyes. “Is it really you?”
“Of course it’s me,” I said confused. “Why? Do I look different?”
She wiped the tears from her face. “No. But I—I wasn’t sure.”
“How could you not be sure?” I teased. “Do I look different to you?”
She scooted closer to me. “The monster. It knows about you. It came here pretending to be you, but I knew something was wrong. When I asked why you were acting so strange, it got angry and turned into the monster. Then it blew fire from its mouth and burned my garden.” She looked so sad.
“Your garden is fine, Danielle. I just came from outside. It’s not burned.”
She shook her head. “It’s hiding the bad it did because it didn’t want you to see.” She started crying again.
“Where’s Snuggles?” I asked, noticing the bear wasn’t with her.
“It took him from me and ripped him to pieces. It said I didn’t need Snuggles…or you. That you were bad. That you were the enemy.”
I hugged her tiny frame. “I’m not the enemy, Danielle.”
How was I supposed to explain to a seven-year-old that her mind was whacked, and she was a prisoner in it? On top of that, she was a teenager with a mental disorder. I sure as hell wasn’t about to tell her.
“Is the monster still out there?” she asked.
“No. The garden was empty,” I said, starting to make my way back outside.
“No
, Abi. Stay here.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
I stopped her. “Danielle, the monster is trying to scare you, but it can’t hurt you.”
“Yes, it can.” Her voice was trembling.
“Has it ever hurt you?” I asked.
“No,” she answered. “But it scares me.”
“That’s what it does. It wants to frighten you so that it can keep you here. But it won’t hurt you.”
“Why?” she questioned.
“Because it’s a bully,” I explained. “I made you a promise, and I’m going to keep it. It tried to scare me and keep me away, but I beat it. I’m here now, to protect you. Now, are you coming with me?” I put my hand out. “I’ll prove you have nothing to be afraid of.”
She nodded and grabbed hold of my hand, squeezing tightly.
We both crawled out from her hiding space, and as soon as we did, she gasped and threw her arms around my waist. “I told you,” she wailed.
She was right. The monster had destroyed the garden. When I’d felt that something was off when I first arrived, my gut was correct. Danielle’s monster had shielded it all from me, but the veil had been lifted, revealing its devastation.
Everything had been burned. The flowers were dead and withered, the trees had lost all their leaves, and their bark and branches were charred and black. The grass was short and ashy and crunched under our feet.
Danielle stood behind me, her finger pointing to the side of us.
Laying on the dry ground were the remains of Snuggles. He was shredded beyond repair. His ears, nose, and paws were scattered over the ground.
Danielle walked over to the debris and fell on her knees. She carefully gathered the pieces of her friend, putting them in a pile.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You said I could do anything if I wanted to bad enough, right?”
“Right.”
“Then I’m going to try and put him back together.”
I smiled. She was beginning to believe in herself.
After she had gathered every last piece, she wrapped them in her arms and hugged the shredded pieces to her chest.
“Snuggles,” I heard her whisper, “come back to me.”
I waited with high expectation, but nothing happened.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed. My heart was breaking for her.
She hugged the pieces tighter, her tears dripping onto the fibers.
Then, a bright light emanated from the pieces. Danielle opened her arms, and the light floated a few feet away from her. It expanded outward, until it exploded, shooting golden beams up into the sky. It was so bright, we had to shield our eyes.
When the light dimmed, I heard Danielle gasp. Sitting upright on the grass was a brand new teddy bear. “Snuggles!” she squealed, running forward and collecting her friend in her arms.
She spun around, her face beaming brightly. “I did it, Abi!”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “Yes, you did.”
“Do you think I could heal this place?”
“I know you can.”
She walked over and grabbed my hand, then closed her eyes. I could feel her power buzzing through my hand and my body; my legs were prickling.
As I looked down, the grass under and around our feet turned bright green. It quickly spread outward, bringing everything back to life. The limp, dry flowers straightened up, blooming in vibrant colors. The trees shed their charred skin and sprouted new leaves and fruit. The gray around us cleared, revealing a bright blue sky and warm sunshine.
Danielle’s garden was back to perfection. The sounds of her laughter completed the magic.
“We did it, Abi.” She squealed, swinging her teddy bear around in a circle.
“No, Danielle. You did it. All by yourself. I just stood by and watched.”
“I did?” She gasped.
“Yep and you don’t ever have to be afraid again. Can you see the power you have inside yourself to heal and make everything new again?”
She nodded, hugging Snuggles tightly.
A thunderous roar shook the entire garden, and I watched Danielle’s face change from a look of hope to one of horror.
She ran over and hid behind me. “It’s mad, and it’s coming.”
I turned and knelt in front of her. “You don’t have to be afraid. You have as much power as the monster.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because I know,” I replied. “Only you can stand up to it and defeat it. And I’ll be right here with you.”
“Promise?” Her dark eyes locked onto mine.
“I promise.”
Another thundering roar sent a heavy wind which shook the leaves in the trees and made the branches creak.
“He’s coming.” She trembled.
Looking upward, I noticed a creature flying down from the sky. It was long and red and had taken the shape of a frightening dragon.
The beast landed in front of us, rearing on its muscular back legs. Its long, translucent wings folded behind its back. Shiny ruby scales rippled down its chest, and a long sleek tail swooshed behind. “You’ve been keeping bad company, Danielle,” the dragon rumbled, its fiery yellow eyes locked on me.
“Abi’s my friend,” she replied, still tucked behind me.
The dragon roared with laughter. “You think she’s your friend. She’s not. I’m your only friend.” Filling its chest with air, it breathed fire from its mouth, setting the apple tree on fire.
I twisted back. “Don’t be afraid. It can’t hurt you. I promise. And you can fix any damage it causes.”
The dragon inhaled, spewing flames onto another tree, incinerating it.
Danielle stepped out from behind me and stomped her foot. “Stop it!” she screamed. “Abi is my friend. She’s nice and takes care of me.”
The dragon roared, setting all the flowers on fire.
“I hate you,” Danielle yelled. Angry tears ran down her cheeks. “I hate you!”
“You can’t hate me,” the dragon thundered.
“Yes, I can. You’re mean and ugly, and I’m not afraid of you!”
The ground shook as the dragon stepped forward, itslong, sharp claws digging into the ground. It came feet from us, roaring ferociously, its heated breath blasting against our faces.
“Stop,” I said, holding Hellfire up at its chest. Hellfire hadn’t been with me until I’d wished for her.
The dragon’s long neck stretched toward me, its fiery eyes pierced mine with a seething rage. “You think you can kill me?”
“I don’t want to kill you. You should be friends, not enemies,” I said, turning to address Danielle. “You can fix this situation. You have the power, if you believe you do.”
The dragon’s powerful tail swung sideways, knocking down a tree like it was a toothpick. “I don’t have friends. I trust no one.”
Without saying a word, Danielle stepped forward, fearlessly walking up to the dragon. She wrapped her arms around its left leg and squeezed it in a hug. Taking a few steps back, she looked the dragon directly in its eyes.
“It’ll be alright,” she said in a sweet voice. “You can trust me. I will be your friend.”
I stepped forward, taking hold of Danielle’s tiny hand.
A blinding light radiated from the dragon’s center as it let out an ear-piercing roar.
We shielded our eyes, then I felt her arms wrap around my waist, squeezing tightly.
When it was over, and the light dimmed, the dragon was no longer there. It had transformed, and standing in its place was a beautiful young girl with long, dark-blonde hair. She stood with her arms at her sides, a tear trickling down her cheek.
“Who is she?” Danielle asked, glancing up at me.
I smiled at her then aimed my attention to the girl standing ten feet away. When my eyes found little Danielle’s again, I wondered if she would or could understand.
“She’s you,” I answered.
“What?” Danielle looked at
the girl, her nose crumpling.
“I know you don’t understand, and it’s hard for me to explain. But that girl is you when you get a little older.” I could tell she was confused, but I was just as confused as she was. Poor kid.
The older Danielle smiled and stepped toward her younger self, holding out her hand.
“I’m sorry, Danielle,” her older self apologized. “Everything I’ve done was to keep you hiding in your corner, safely tucked away. I wanted to hide you from all of the horrible things that happened to us after your eighth birthday. I never meant to hurt you. I—I just thought scaring you was the only way to keep you away from the pain. I realize how wrong I’ve been.”
“What kinds of things?” the little Danielle asked.
“Not now, okay? It’s my secret to keep for now.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
The younger Danielle let go of me and stepped toward her older self. They both stared at each other before she reached out and took her hand.
“I forgive you.”
Tears streamed from the older Danielle’s eyes.
The two of them hugged each other tightly, their bodies glowing brightly. They swirled together until the two of them merged and became one.
Moments later, the older Danielle stood in front of me.
“Where did she go?” I questioned.
She touched her heart. “We’re together again,” she answered. A grin lifted on her lips as she turned and walked away.
“Thank you, Abi,” she spoke, and then disappeared.
MY EYES POPPED OPEN, AND I was back in the bedroom. To my side, Danielle was sitting upright, staring directly at me—scaring the crap out of me.
“Are you alright?” I gasped, my heart nearly escaping my chest.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?” I breathed.
“For helping me. I almost feel…free.”
I blinked, still trying to figure out if this was another crazy dream. But it wasn’t. We were back in my twisted reality, and Danielle was talking to me, saying more than a few mumbled words. Was she free from her mind? I was sad knowing her younger self was gone, and I would never get to talk to her again, but I was happy she was finally set free and at peace.