Page 109 of The Last Session

“Are you okay?” Jonah asked. He and Sol both looked concerned, their faces drawn. Moon’s expression was blank. I thought suddenly of the snake, the stonelike eyes.

“Yeah.” I started to sit up. The rest of the group stood in a larger circle around us. We were on a sandy patch of dirt just outside the tent. My body and hair were completely soaked, my hands clammy. “What happened?”

“You passed out.” Jonah shot a glance at Sol.

Sol and Moon had been holding me in place, forcing me to stay even when I’d said I wanted to leave.

“I’m so sorry, Thea.” Now Moon’s eyes were filled with tears. She brushed back my wet hair. “I’m so sorry I pushed you. I just—we were so close to getting a confirmation.”

A confirmation of what?

The memory of the desert and the snake and Catherine still loomed behind my eyelids. My body felt strange, but I was also relieved to no longer be in searing pain. The memory of it made me suddenly nauseous. I leaned over and retched, but nothing came up.

“You poor thing,” Moon muttered. “Grace! Go get Thea some water.”

I just wanted to get away from everyone, especially Moon and Sol, to try to figure out what had just happened. The fastest way would be placating them. I held up a hand. “I’m okay.”

Even though I was most assuredlynotokay. At first it had started almost like a game, saying what I thought Moon wanted me to say. But then I’d actually seen things, heard things, so lifelike that I could still remember every detail. Had it been some kind of hypnosis? But Moon hadn’t been speaking; she hadn’t even been pounding her drum.

“Take it easy.” Sol peered into my eyes like a suspicious doctor.

I tried to stand, but my legs gave out underneath me. Sol and Jonah grabbed my arms and lowered me back to the ground.

“Told you I didn’t like saunas.” It was a dumb joke, but I couldn’t help but glance accusatorially at Moon.

She bit her bottom lip, having the decency to look ashamed.

“I’d say we have our confirmation.” Sol rubbed my shoulder gently but looked at Moon. “Right?”

She ignored him. “Let’s get you back to your yurt. Unless you’d like to rest in the main house?”

“No, it’s fine.” I tried again to stand. They held my arms, but I was able to stay up. “I—I just need to rest.”

Sol insisted on keeping his arm around my waist as we started down the gravel path.

I glanced down at my arm. Blood smeared around the red crescent Moon’s fingernail had pressed into my flesh.

44

On my cot, still bewildered, I tried to figure out what had just happened. Somehow, Moon had predicted the vision I’d have in the sweat lodge.You don’t remember, but something happened in the desert. You were offered something. A choice.

How had she known? Guessing my dreams was one thing, but there was no way she could’ve known something I hadn’t yet seen.

My body still felt strange, off. I’d briefly dated a guy with a VR headset: after running through ruins on a distant planet, I’d taken it off to feel dizzy and displaced. This time, though, the sensation was much stronger.

God, I wanted a drink. Maybe two. Just to bring my buzzing nervous system down.

“Hey.” Moon peeked in the door. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I was both curious and loath to talk to her. I couldn’t forget how she—and Sol—had held me down after I’d indicated I needed to leave.

“I brought you this.” She set down an iced matcha in a clear glass on the desk, then sat on the edge of the bed. She was freshly showered and wearing a waffle robe.

“Thanks.” I wrapped my arms around my legs. Our positions felt weirdly mother-daughter.

“So, what was that?” I asked when she didn’t speak.

“It was a past life regression. It’s where you slip back into a past life.” Moon played with her necklace. “Time is a construct, right? So these lives are all happening at the same time. It’s like stepping into another dimension.”

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