“What do I do?” she asked.
“Since fear seems to be your trigger, perhaps recall a fearsome experience. Recall when Alex approached you before, for instance.”
Callie took a shaky breath, and nodded. She closed her eyes, conjuring up the image of Alex leaping towards her as before. Her stomach clenched, but not enough. She was afraid, but only in the way that people are afraid when looking backwards and knowing the outcome. It wasn’t real fear, just the memory of fear.
She frowned. A fearful experience.
A thought came to mind, but didn’t sit well with her. The only memory that she had on reserve which she knew would bring honest fear into her heart was not one she recalled readily. Not that she’d never remembered it before. She’d been having nightmares about it for the past four years.
She swallowed and prepared herself. And then she allowed herself to be in the car again, facing the highway, the semi-truck crossing the yellow lines…and suddenly the car flipped over and she was yanked out of the window and landed on the cave floor.
She felt a dizzying tug upon her body as she opened her eyes. Her palms were slick as she pushed to her feet. Her breath came in shallow pants. But she had done it.
She laughed once, a short note of victory. “I did it,” she called out. She wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms, noticing for the first time that she was, in fact, still in her pajamas. She knew that would have been embarrassing if she’d cared about what the men back in reality thought of her.
“Very good,” Emeric called to her. “Now can you find your way out?”
Callie drew a steadying breath, not bothering to look around this time. She closed her eyes, trying to picture herself elsewhere. But all she could see was darkness. She felt the same cool breeze, heard the same birds, and tried again.
Maybe, she thought, if she focused on the accident again, she could use fear to land in another memory. And so she tried to bring to mind the accident. The semi, the three jerky twists of the steering wheel, the world spinning out of orbit…. For some reason, these details, which had been etched into her mind for years, seemed blurry and out of place here. She couldn’t fully remember them. It felt like she were reaching for something through deep layers of sand, unable to really trace its outline.
She sighed. “It’s not working,” she said. “I can’t get out by myself.”
“Try again,” Emeric said patiently. “Try to erase this memory from your mind, disappear into the dark space. Find another.”
Callie tilted her head back and cried out in frustration. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
And then, like before, a flash of light and a swirl of pictures, and Callie found herself being catapulted back into the present. She wobbled only slightly this time.
She angrily tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Stop doing that,” she said. “It freaks me out.”
“You don’t know your way out yet,” Emeric replied. “Alex has to force you out of his memory.”
“He can do that?” Callie asked, looking at Alex. He didn’t seem to have moved. He wasn’t even looking at her now, choosing instead to gaze out the window in boredom.
“Once he is aware of your presence there, yes,” Emeric said. “You are not yet strong enough to fight him from doing so. Eventually, you will be able to hang onto your position in one’s memory, even if they try to force you
“Since fear seems to be your trigger, perhaps recall a fearsome experience. Recall when Alex approached you before, for instance.”
Callie took a shaky breath, and nodded. She closed her eyes, conjuring up the image of Alex leaping towards her as before. Her stomach clenched, but not enough. She was afraid, but only in the way that people are afraid when looking backwards and knowing the outcome. It wasn’t real fear, just the memory of fear.
She frowned. A fearful experience.
A thought came to mind, but didn’t sit well with her. The only memory that she had on reserve which she knew would bring honest fear into her heart was not one she recalled readily. Not that she’d never remembered it before. She’d been having nightmares about it for the past four years.
She swallowed and prepared herself. And then she allowed herself to be in the car again, facing the highway, the semi-truck crossing the yellow lines…and suddenly the car flipped over and she was yanked out of the window and landed on the cave floor.
She felt a dizzying tug upon her body as she opened her eyes. Her palms were slick as she pushed to her feet. Her breath came in shallow pants. But she had done it.
She laughed once, a short note of victory. “I did it,” she called out. She wiped her hands on her pajama bottoms, noticing for the first time that she was, in fact, still in her pajamas. She knew that would have been embarrassing if she’d cared about what the men back in reality thought of her.
“Very good,” Emeric called to her. “Now can you find your way out?”
Callie drew a steadying breath, not bothering to look around this time. She closed her eyes, trying to picture herself elsewhere. But all she could see was darkness. She felt the same cool breeze, heard the same birds, and tried again.
Maybe, she thought, if she focused on the accident again, she could use fear to land in another memory. And so she tried to bring to mind the accident. The semi, the three jerky twists of the steering wheel, the world spinning out of orbit…. For some reason, these details, which had been etched into her mind for years, seemed blurry and out of place here. She couldn’t fully remember them. It felt like she were reaching for something through deep layers of sand, unable to really trace its outline.
She sighed. “It’s not working,” she said. “I can’t get out by myself.”
“Try again,” Emeric said patiently. “Try to erase this memory from your mind, disappear into the dark space. Find another.”
Callie tilted her head back and cried out in frustration. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
And then, like before, a flash of light and a swirl of pictures, and Callie found herself being catapulted back into the present. She wobbled only slightly this time.
She angrily tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Stop doing that,” she said. “It freaks me out.”
“You don’t know your way out yet,” Emeric replied. “Alex has to force you out of his memory.”
“He can do that?” Callie asked, looking at Alex. He didn’t seem to have moved. He wasn’t even looking at her now, choosing instead to gaze out the window in boredom.
“Once he is aware of your presence there, yes,” Emeric said. “You are not yet strong enough to fight him from doing so. Eventually, you will be able to hang onto your position in one’s memory, even if they try to force you
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