“Why can’t we go skating?”
“Because,” I reply.
“Well, I want to skate.”
“I don’t think we should.”
Valeria folds her arms over her chest and pouts. “I thought you were supposed to be a fun brother.”
I glance down at her. “I am.”
“Then why aren’t we skating?”
I huff in annoyance. “Fine, but don’t tell Mama and Papa.”
We stand, walk over to the ice, and start to skate. A few of my friends appear, but no one says anything. A cold, bitter wind burns my cheeks and hands. I look around for Valeria, but I don’t see her. Where did she run off to now?
“Valeria?” I call out.
No answer.
I turn in circles, searching, but I don’t see anyone other than my friends. Suddenly, I hear what sounds like water sloshing. And there she is. It seems like she’s miles away, but I reach the hole in no time. Valeria’s fingers are gripping the edge, the rest of her hidden by the dark water.
I look over my shoulder at my friends, who aren’t paying attention. “Help me!” I yell. They stop skating and stare at me. “Come on!” They don’t move. I reach into the water, sucking in my breath as the frigid water sends tingles of numbness up my arms. My hands reach for her, but no one is here. Where did Valeria go?
“Valeria!”
No answer.
When I glance around, hundreds of identical openings appear.
“Help me, Luca!” My little sister sounds terrified. “Save me!” Her voice appears to be coming from everywhere at once.
While I begin to reach into the water, one by one, I scream for my friends to help me, only they’ve disappeared now, too.
“I’m right here!” Valeria screams. “Hurry!”
Why can’t I tell where her scream is coming from? The more I look, the more the ice breaks open and the more it freezes. Half of the ice refreezes while the other half cracks and breaks. Valeria continues to yell for me to save her, to help her, to find her. Every time I reach into the water, my energy depletes. I try moving faster, but I continue to slow down, falling to my knees to crawl instead of run.
Soon, I’m on my stomach, pulling myself to the next place. Valeri
a’s screams have slowed, but remain panicked. Out of energy, I collapse. My eyes close briefly. A banging comes from beneath it, causing me to reopen them. Valeria is under the ice, slamming her hands against it, her eyes lifeless.
“You gave up! You failed! You didn’t save me!” Fury seeps into her words. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! You didn’t try hard enough, Luca! You could have saved me!”
I jolt awake, immediately glancing to my left where Hadley is asleep. Nausea courses through me at the vivid memories of my nightmare. I can still hear the anger in her voice as she screamed at me. Tossing the covers aside, I walk to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. It doesn’t soothe me at all. It makes it worse. When I close my eyes in attempts to gather my composure, all I see is Valeria’s dead ones staring back at me. My stomach heaves and I just do make it over the toilet in time to throw up.
My hands are on the counter, holding me up after I rinse my mouth, and my eyes are closed when I hear Hadley enter the bathroom. I don’t open them to look at her, partly because I still feel sick.
“I’m fine,” I mutter.
“So, you’re not puking your guts out and those aren’t tear stains on your cheeks?” she questions as she grabs a washcloth and wets it before placing it on the back of my neck.
I wipe my eyes and sure enough they’re damp. “No.”
“Damn, stubborn Russian,” she mumbles. I would smile at her comment if I weren’t so miserable. “I’m taking the nightmare was bad this time. Was I in it again?”
“It was terrible, but no, you weren’t in it.” Thank goodness. “I don’t know why I keep having them. Usually, it’s one or two here and there.”