Page 47 of Echo Unbound

"I already told you, and it's obvious, anyway."

Have I started to growl again? I didn't mean to do that. But the more she touches me, the more I need to flip us over so I can tie her to the bed rails and take her again, while she's at my mercy and can't hurt me.

"Come on, Gabriel. Be honest with me. You want to take control again because…"

She wants me to say it, but I won't. I can't. No matter how many times I've tried to convince myself the past doesn't matter, it still does and it always will. Sarah refuses to see that. I push her off me and slide down to the foot of the bed. My feet touch the floor, but I can't move any farther.

She crawls toward me on her knees, halting right beside me, though she doesn't touch me. When she speaks, her voice is hushed and filled with empathy. "Please let me in, Gabriel. I want to help you."

"It's too late."

Memories flash through my mind, vivid and sharp and inescapable. Screams. The crunching of bones. Anguished pleas for mercy. Children running. Monsters pouring out of the newly formed entrance to the Echo, tearing people apart, feasting on their flesh and blood.

I suddenly can't breathe. My chest feels like ten cements blocks have fallen onto it, and I'm starting to hyperventilate. I can't let Sarah see this. I need to get out of here before—

Her arms come around me. She murmurs things that aren't words, just soothing sounds.

And the panic subsides. I shut my eyes, take in slow, deep breaths, and wait it out. That simple act of putting her arms around me has erased the memories. Well, not erased. I will never forget what I saw that day. But her arms around me and the soothing sounds she makes have pulled me out of the past and back into the present.

"What was that?" she whispers. "A flashback?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Because I've seen it before, with people who found Sanctuary. Do you have nightmares too?"

"Not as often as I used to."

She brushes the backs of her fingers over my cheek. "I can't imagine what you went through, and I wish I could erase all of that for you. If you want to tell me about it, I can handle whatever it is."

I believe she can. Sarah might've seemed like an amnesiac with no backbone, but I know now that she's a fighter. Should I tell her everything? If I do, maybe she will finally realize I'm not the kind of man she needs.

"On the day the alchemy of worlds began," I say, "I was walking to work. It was a beautiful summer's day in Oklahoma City, sunny and warm. I'd just passed a park where kids were playing catch, when that eerie music started up and everyone froze. The music was beautiful and terrifying, mesmerizing too, and a force beyond our control compelled us to walk to a specific spot in the city."

"Quite a few people in Sanctuary experienced the music too. Not everyone heard it on that day, though."

"I heard it, and that music always echoes in my dreams."

Sarah hugs me a little tighter, but she doesn't speak.

"When the creatures poured out of the Echo," I say, "I tried to save whoever I could. Those monsters went after the kids first. I tried to help, but I couldn't save even one of them. Then I got sucked into the Echo, and I couldn't save anyone anymore."

"You tried. That's what counts."

"No, it's not," I snarl. "Trying isn't enough. The parents of those kids don't care that I tried. It's bullshit. But the parents are probably dead too."

I set my elbows on my thighs and drop my head into my hands. My eyes sting. I'm not about to cry, no way. I never do that, not even when I watched those children being torn apart and couldn't do a thing to stop it. But when I suck in a sharp breath, it's ragged, which implies that I'm getting choked up. That's bullshit.

Sarah combs her fingers through my hair, her touch gentle and more soothing than seems possible. How she always knows what to do and say, I have no idea. She just knows.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I thought you both would want to know immediately."

The sound of Aldith's voice makes me snap upright. The pretty Echo creature stands there with her hands clasped in front of her, the way she always does, and her slightly pinched expression suggests she thinks she's interrupted an intimate moment.

Well, I guess she has. I just shared the worst experiences of my life with Sarah and almost started to cry. At least Aldith couldn't see that. I hope.

Sarah claims my hand, lacing our fingers. "What is it, Aldith?"

"The Brain has released you and Gabriel. Your connection has been solidified."

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