Page 34 of The Other World

The woman kept speaking but it was too hard for me to concentrate on translating her words into meaning. Instead, I just let them wash over me, let everything happen around me. I felt myself being lifted, carried, but it was a remote sort of awareness, as if it was happening to someone else, someone in a grey, bleak film.

And then, suddenly, I was Lucy again. I knew who I was, where I was. I was weak, absolutely drained, but Iwas. A sense of warmth flooded through me, all emanating from where Tennyson was holding my hand. The only thing that existed for me, the only thing thatmattered, was that Tennyson was there. He always had been, always would be. That was everything.

“You’re safe,” I said, though my voice was thin and wavery. I couldn’t manage any more than that. I needed to know what was happening, where everyone was and if there was any way to get back home, but it was all too much right then. I could barely form the thoughts, let alone the words.

“Rest now,” Tennyson said. “I’ll be right here.”

I closed my eyes, and for the first time in what felt like forever, fell into a proper, restful sleep.

I was woken by the sound of an argument. I tried to sit up, worried it might be Other-me there to take me back to that awful little room, but it was only Tennyson and Mrs Spencer. We were in one of the platforms in the forest around not-dad’s compound, though I couldn’t tell if it was the same one where Nikolai and I had been. All the monitoring equipment was smashed up but it was a smart spot to hide out, as it was easy to spot anyone approaching from far off. It was crowded though, the platform wasn’t huge to start with and beside me, Tennyson and Mrs Spencer, there was Sam, both Nikolais and one of the escapees from the dungeons.

“She’s been through enough,” Tennyson said. He was trying to keep his voice quiet but the irritation cut through.

“We need to get her powers back,” said Mrs Spencer. “Or we’ll be stuck here forever.”

“Weneedto get the others and get to somewhere safe,” Tennyson argued. “We can worry about everything else once we have time to regroup.”

They continued arguing but I must have dozed off again, because the next thing I knew, I was being carried again. I was strapped to Sam’s back, the same way he’d been strapped to other-Tennyson. It was night and we were traveling through the forest. Tennyson was just ahead of us but I couldn’t see who else was with us.

“You’re okay,” I said to Sam. I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, but either way, he didn’t answer me.

The next time I came to, we were out of the forest. We were back in the compound, in not-dad’s office, I realized. That didn’t seem like a great idea but I was in no position to argue. Someone else was arguing though. Nikolai and Other-me.

“You betrayed me,” she said. “You helped them escape. I should have known I couldn’t trust you.”

“Youcantrust me,” he said. “I did what I did for a reason but we can’t talk about it here. Just open the portal back to school, once we’re there, I’ll explain everything.”

Other-me didn’t know the rest of us were there, I realized. We were hidden by the screen that sectioned off the seating area. So other-Nikolai had helped us escape, had he? And now he was trying to get the portal opened. I wasn’t sure which side he was playing, but I was grateful either way.

“You think I’m stupid,” she said.

Other-Nikolai laughed. “I’d be stupid if I did,” he said. “Look, maybe I betrayed you, maybe I didn’t, but if we keep hanging out here and your father finds us, you’ll never know the truth.”

She sighed. “Fine,” she said, walking over to her father’s desk. Sam stepped back to keep us out of sight and I realized there were several people behind us.

“I’ll hear you out,” she told Nikolai. “But it better be good.”

Some lights flickered as the portal became active at the office door. Other-me and Nikolai were at the far end of the office, and as soon as the portal activated, our group ran toward it.

I could hear Other-me screaming in rage behind us, and I worried she’d close the portal down before we got through, but her yelling was cut short and when I turned my head, I could see from the corner of my eye that other-Nikolai was keeping her restrained.

When we entered the portal, I lost consciousness again.

I woke up to a familiar sight. I was in my bed, in my room in the Red House. I glanced around to see if Hannah was there so I could tell her about my super weird dream, but nope. It hadn’t been a dream. My room was full of all the refugees from not-dad’s compound. Tennyson, Nikolai, Mrs Spencer, and a few others. And other-Althea, who had held down the fort while we’d been gone, though we hadn’t been able to return with her brother.

“No Althea,” I whispered.

“No,” said Tennyson. “There were several of us that couldn’t be found.”

I reached out for him and he took my hand. “We’ll find her.”

He nodded but didn’t look at me.

“Did they hurt you?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “No. Nothing like what they did to you. They were still only monitoring me when Sam and his mother found me.”

“And other you?”

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