The Dream Weavers Collection Part 2, K.R. Gomlok [best summer reads of all time TXT] 📗

quarters soon to be revealed to the authorities and vacated. Does that give you enough information??
Chimera paused and mulled it over for a moment, though it was difficult to think while being jostled by Adam?s persistent pace. Dark Weavers? Now where had she heard of them before?
?Oh, by the way, do you have the book with you?? he asked, giving her a look of mild concern over his shoulder, ?I didn?t think to check you for it when I pulled you out of there. But in my defense, running from the guys with guns is common sense when I?ve only got a sword.?
The book? What book? And what in the world was Adam talking about? She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on one subject at a time. The last book she had read was something by Poe, a little bit of poetry as she recalled. Or was it? The book Melina had written! Chimera almost choked on her own breath. Where had she last seen it, in the hospital? Was it still there? Why wouldn?t it be? Too many questions? until someone explained why she was kidnapped in the first place. Nothing made sense anymore? Since the moment of Melina?s death onward everything had warped and blurred into the twilight of reality.
?Okay? so they still have the book.? Adam concluded to himself, reading into her silence. ?Well in that case, once you?re safe with Emily make sure to send back up as thank you.?
?Mmmm?? Chimera mumbled in response, not sure what to make of Adam?s monologue. She was running with a strange group at the moment, much to her dismay. It had begun with Zachery and had pretty much gone downhill from there. Now that she thought about it, Zach really had not been that bad? he was just a little rigid.
?There we are,? Adam announced softly as a car came into view. ?Remember what I said now, see you later kiddo.?
Chimera simply closed her eyes. She was too emotionally exhausted to deal with this right now. It would all have to wait for when she woke up from this crazy dream?
Adam opened to the car door and dumped her on the passenger seat before slamming the door and disappearing into the growing dusk. A redheaded woman, presumably Rossot, sat in the driver?s seat watching the screen of a personal data assistant as it cast faint light across her freckled face. She gave a slight start when she finally noticed Chimera before turning off the data assistant. ?Nice work, Adam,? She said, turning on the ignition and buckling her seatbelt. ?Now let?s? Adam??
?He went back for the book.? Chimera told the woman wearily, staring blankly ahead. ?Do we need to go back??
The woman downshifted to reverse in reply and turned the car around, ?He?s going to get himself killed one of these days?? she grumbled under her breath, ?Couldn?t he at least ask for some help??
?He said to send some.? Chimera hastily recounted, trying to stabilize herself despite the woman?s rushed pace, ?Did he mean us??
Rossot stopped the car in mid motion, jerking Chimera against the seat belt just as she fastened it. Giving a frustrated sigh, she laid her forehead against the steering wheel and slowly turned the car around once more, ?I guess not. Here,? She tossed Chimera a cell phone, ?call nine-one-one for me. We?re going to have to act quick but priority number one is getting you out of here. Got it??
Chimera nodded and punched in the number, handing the phone over to Rossot when she was done. Rossot quickly explained that she was calling about a gang of kidnappers and their position, an hour south, south east of Fostor, and hung up. ?Kidnappers?? Chimera asked, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together now that she was a little better rested.
?The Dark Weavers,? Rossot said, keeping her eyes on the road, ?They kidnapped you, didn?t they? Besides, we?ve been keeping quiet about this whole dream world thing for a reason. One of our people tried to explain it to the rest of the world once and was sent to an insane asylum. Unless somebody experiences Dream Weaving first hand it?s a little difficult to believe. So? not a word of this to anyone, got it??
?How are you going to explain my absence then?? Chimera challenged, still in doubt of how she would manage to accept and yet deny this insane story.
?Just as I said, they kidnapped you, didn?t they?? Rossot stated, ?People usually don?t have a good reason for that. You?ll be telling the truth and you?ll still be able to walk around the real world without being considered crazy; alright? Besides, I?d hate for you to miss the memorial service for Melina.?
Chimera fell silent at the mention of Melina. So she really had died? She had tried to deny it this whole time but now there was just no more running.
?You know? they could probably use your help in the Dream world.? Rossot began again, graciously changing the subject, ?Odds are, Adam is going to face some hard mental assault. Maybe you could help the others protect him while he?s in there.?
?How?? Chimera replied flatly, ? I can?t fall asleep on command.?
Rossot pulled over and put her hand on Chimera?s forehead. ?Not yet, maybe. But I?ve learned a few tricks from Hinter that might speed the process.?
Suddenly, everything was blurring out. Under Rossot?s guidance she felt her subconscious rising within her. Her thought processes shifted and churned, moving out of the realm of conscious thought and into the darkness of the Dream World, into the realm of the phantasmal, into a new life.


Chimera opened her eyes on a brick bridge spanning a darkened stream below. On one end was a marble archway and on the other the towering sprawl of an early twentieth century city, spewing smoke into the heavens to ensure no light reached the foggy alleyways below.
?Are you coming?? Melina asked, sitting on the railing of the bridge on the end that led into the city. ?They could use your help.?
?Who??
?Zach and the others, they?re in there guarding the borders.? Melina explained, getting up and looking into the swirling fog. ?And I?m sure they would appreciate an extra hand.?
?Not mine,? Chimera said, mostly to herself, ?They don?t need a broken link.?
Melina sighed and shook her head, ?You know I don?t see you that way.? She reassured Chimera, ?And Rusiu and Sam don?t see you that way, and Zach? well, he?s out voted but I would bet anything he doesn?t see you that way either.?
?But I do,? Chimera persisted, ?I know what I?ve done, I know who I am.?
?So do I,? Melina replied, equally persistent, ?But the difference is that I think you can heal from it. Now take the first step and put the past behind you so you can heal from it.?
Chimera looked long and hard at her old friend, wondering if she really meant the words, or if they even mattered since they were from her imagination. Could she really become someone of worth in anyone?s eyes again? Could there really be a new beginning? She heaved a sigh to herself and began after Melina. She would just have to find out?
But just as she set foot in the city Melina?s apparition disappeared, leaving her alone in the alleyways of the great city. Turning around, she noticed that the archway on the other side of the bridge was fading away behind her, leaving only the option of braving the fog. ?Well?? Chimera said, bracing herself for anything, ?Only one way out now. Might as well get started.?
As she began to venture further in she noticed that the world lacked color and detail, gray bricks melted into each other, white clumps populated flowerpots set hopefully on some of the higher window sills in an attempt to catch ephemeral sunlight. She caught glimpses of the streets every now and then through picket fences and piles of rubbish but for the most part she was confined to the dingy alley where soft gray shadows roamed.
It did not take her long to come to the conclusion that she was not getting anywhere fast. The world seemed to be repeating in no particular order but it was repeating no less. However, it seemed to her that she could hear voices always just ahead, growing a little stronger with every step. She finally pinpointed its location as it moved along the street and one of the speakers as Rusiu. If only she could get through one of the barricades somehow? Could she jump the fence? No, it seemed to grow to accommodate the height of her leap. The refuse piles were likewise as well as stuck together beyond her dismantling abilities. As she worked on her escape, the voices grew fainter, fading into the distance. Finally, she kicked the fence and cried out in frustration, at a loss for other action.
?You?re looking for a way out too, huh??
Chimera turned around, tripping over a stray board leaning against the wall in the process. ?Who?s there?? She demanded as she pulled her face up out of the dirt to stare at a fog enshrouded figure a little way down the alley. His voice sounded vaguely familiar but she could not seem to place it.
?Nobody of importance yet,? the person replied wryly, coming a little closer as he talked, ?But I?m real, and that?s important enough, right? All the other people I?ve run into so far have been part of this Dream. But? you feel different. You feel like? Chimera??
Zachery Ember stepped out of the fog and into full visibility. He looked almost exactly Chimera had remembered him, except now he had a sword at his side. ?What are you doing here?? He asked, helping her up off the ground, ?You?re real too, right?? he asked after a moment, a little unsure of the assumption.
?Yeah, I?m real,? Chimera affirmed, ?And I?m lost. I lost the trail of the two I was following. They were in the main street, know how to get there??
?Have you tried Dream Weaving?? Zach asked, putting his hands against the fence, feeling across the grain for something.
?But how do I Dream Weave?? Chimera grumbled, exasperated with the phrase. Did everybody in the world know how to Dream Weave but her?
Zach only closed his eyes in response and clenched his hand against the board. The fence began to dissolve