Waking Other Lives

Seth’s POV

I left Sierra’ room, her joy of seeing her parents bringing a smile to my lips. I needed that, very much. Keeping my hands off her was making me irritated, impatient, and the effort not to display my emotions, passions burning like fire was driving me crazy. I was starved, and she was my delicious meal, yet I couldn’t eat it, heck I couldn’t even touch it. Looking at her was torture, what kind of an animal was I in wanting her when she was in mortal danger, how selfish was I? It was disgusting. So, that’s why I was standing outside her hospital room thinking of what to do next when I ran into....

“Nicole?” I said, when a girl threw herself in my arms. She was dressed elegantly, as always, with taste and expense. Her hair was gathered in a loose bun.

“Seth, it is so good to see you,” she cried, her voice teary as she extended her well-manicured fingers to touch me. “They told me you were awake.”

“Thanks,” I replied. I had no idea how to behave, actually. Nicole had been an ex-girlfriend on earth, though we’d always been an odd couple, with us being so different in terms of family background, and personality. She drove her Ferrari while I worked in a garage, she always dressed fashionably, and my jeans were my daily uniform. But, she’d been my fiancé in Rawonia, and one of my dragons under my command in the land of Dragoon. All in all, what did that make us now?

She had tried to kill Sierra, but that had not been real, had it? The reality from three universes was utterly confusing.

“I didn’t know you’ve been in a coma. I didn’t know, but I tried to find you and they told me you were at the hospital. I had to come and see you, since I remembered... I flew from New York City this morning. That’s where I’ve been for the last one year since we last broke up, I mean. I’ve been going to Loyola College,” she said, fidgeting with her hands. It was obvious, she was also nervous. “How are you?” she asked.

“I am fine. Sierra is fine,” I responded, smiling. “I hope you will hang around a while, I’ll introduce you around.”

“I’d like that,” she said. “And, I’m really sorry about Sierra back there, about what I did.”

“That is in our past now, Nicole. We have a future we need to save. We need to talk, all of us Drakons,” I said. “I am planning to have a meeting, soon.”

“Yes, I’m very confused. I’m not sure what this all means,” she said, displaying the same innocent, child-like expression I used to adore her for, up until my Sierra.

“It means we have a war at our hands, and we’ll have to remember who we were, who we’d been once,” I instructed.

“Okay, I trust you, Seth,” she said, her hand touching mine again. It was then that the door opened, and I saw Sierra, her gaze finding us, the recognition in her beautiful eyes, the shock in her face, her hesitation, her pretense as she forged a cool expression, finally forcing her knit eyebrows and tightly pressed lips to relax.

“Sierra,” Nicole greeted her. “How are you?”

Sierra nodded her greeting, she was having difficulty forming words with her tightly clenched teeth, her hands twitching as if she was about to use the power of light. She was so funny, I wanted to kiss her so damn badly, I was about to when I stopped myself. What the hell was I thinking, there could be no kissing, definitely no kissing... damn it!

“Fine,” Sierra managed to say, gritting the word out. “And, you?” she asked, forcing herself.

“Absolutely fantastic. I wanted to see Seth”, she blurted out. ” I mean, well, you both...” she added.

“Of course, you did. How very nice of you,” Sierra said, her acting improving by the minute. She had actually stretched her lips into an extremely fake, self-conscious smile by now. “So, what were you guys talking about?” she asked, casually. She took a step towards me, but then stopped, her gaze flickered over me uncertainly, as if seeking some additional consolation. I stretched my hand towards her and she moved right within my arms, finally smiling, really smiling. My kitten was still uncertain of me, and I hated that. She was heaven in my arms, but I hoped her heart was not reacting to our proximity.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” she mouthed the words, looking at my face with a sensational grin.

I squeezed her fondly, how I looked forward to the day when she’d be fine, and I’d use every opportunity to claim her as mine, and show it, blatantly too, both in private and public, damn the watching eyes, and the curious glances.

“Well, it was nice seeing you both,” Nicole said, looking at us both, with a pained expression. Did she still have feelings for me, was it possible? “I’m staying at Holiday Inn, you can find me from there when you have that meeting,” she added.

“Sure, Nicole,” I replied.

“Sierra!” we heard Sierra’s father call out right then, from inside the room. The door opened, and her father looked perplexed at the three of us standing outside the room. “Oh, you are here? We wondered where you went to in such a rush. C’mon baby, you need to rest,” he said, greeting me with a head nod, and pulled her right from my arms. As she was about to go to inside, she ran back to my arms, and gave me a quick kiss. “I love you,” she said and then followed her father into the room without even hear me repeat the words.

I forced myself to leave the hospital room, even though every instinct in me cried against leaving her side. But, we had a looming war, and preparations needed to be made. My first destination was Northwestern University. I needed to find my buddies.

Hmm...I had no money with me, and that was a problem. How was I going to get to Northwestern University?

I heard the screech of the tires first as the red Mustang slid into the parking lot in a sharp maneuver and then it was the loud voice of the driver which grasped my attention.” C’mon, jump in man,” the driver said. I had no idea who was inside the car which was not familiar to me. I looked around to see who he was talking to. “Hop in, Seth,” he urged, popping his head out from the rolled down window. It was then that I saw the curly black hair, and the familiar blue eyes of my very best friend, and comrade in arms in Rawonia, my second in command, Cayman. I was shocked to say the least. What was he doing in here, how did he even know? He was another Drakon whose existence I’d not known on earth, but whose loyalty, and friendship had been such an important part of my life in Rawonia.

I got in without further ado, and looked at him in amazement as I fastened my seat belt. “Cayman, what are you doing in here?” I asked, unable to wait a second longer to get some answers.

“I am here at your command. I can feel you, all of us can since you woke up. Everybody is gathering, every Drakon on earth is gathering, here in Chicago, to follow your command.”

“How is that possible?” I asked.

“They all remember, we all do,” he said. “Where are we going?”

“To find Dante. To find the others, to Northwestern University.”

“Prince Dante, got it,” he laughed heartily. “Here we go,” he said, pressing on the gas pedal like crazy, and the car lurched forward, and I almost hit my head on the front window.

“Are you sure you know how to drive this car?” I asked, wondering. “Perhaps, it’d be better if I did the driving.”

“Prince Seth, how you wound me,” he said with a grin, I can drive you anywhere, no worries... well, except for Rawonia, I guess, that could prove to be a tiny bit difficult,” he joked lightly.

I had missed him, and I smiled, feeling good since I’ve learned of Sierra’s condition.

The witch had better beware, I thought. My Drakon army was gathering. If only I found Sierra’s missing heart, my world would be cheery again.

************************************************************

(Sierra’s POV)

My parents had taken me home after my tests had been conducted. Grandma had not woken up yet, and that was hanging over the family like a black cloud. We were not discussing it as though silence would wash over the pending news, that she would never wake up. I had held her hand back at the hospital, watching the blue veins beneath her pale wrists, she looked so frail, so still, so broken. I talked to her, hoping she’d somehow reach out to me, talk to me, tell me what to do. I had done everything the Goddess asked of me, why wasn’t she awake then, standing by my side, being my grandma, my friend, my protector?

My mom insisted I stay in bed, I was being pampered, expected to enjoy so many of the delicacies I once loved, like my favorite dessert and mom’s lasagna, all the things I’d jumped at a few days back. But, now all I cared about was Seth, of spending my every minute with him. Worse yet, now that I knew he would not touch or kiss me, I craved it all like a forbidden fruit.

Also, I needed to be back at my feet to get back at the mission. Where was Abby and her neutralizers? They surely were hatching plans, and every minute I spent in bed was scaring the hell out of me. We had to be making our own plans, too and instead here I was in bed, sleeping. I promised myself that I would be out of this bed by tomorrow morning, neither my heart, nor my parents would stop me. I would not lie in this bed like a pregnant woman given bed rest till I gave birth. I was going to fight, starting from tomorrow on. On that thought, I closed my eyes, letting the medication the doctor had prescribed to me, numb my body and lure me to sleep, for the last time.

Where was I? Where was this gloomy room, was I at the hospital? Who was that girl keeling down on the floor, her butt in the air, looking down at a hole on the floor, examining it with the keen interest of a biologist studying a gene. She rose up slightly, as if her back was killing her, stretched lazily, and yawned. Then she opened her palms close to the hole. I gasped, when I saw what happened. Light erupted from her palms, flowing to the hole which was as large as a boxer’s fist. She turned around as if sensing my presence. I inhaled sharply, my heart beating fast. When she turned around, her eyes looking right to where I was, I swallowed in fear and panic, curbing on the urge to scream. Her face expression was identical to mine. It was obvious she was seized with similar emotions.

“Who the hell are you?” she asked.

And, on that note, I woke up in bed, sweaty, and scared out of my wits.

“I am Sierra, who are you?” I whispered in my own bed. The problem was that I knew the answer to my own question. I had seen the evidence of it with my very own eyes.

She was me, she was Sierra.