Return To Pandora: Book 1 in The Pandora Series (10 page)

Fate

It was dark, but from a quick intake of my surroundings I was in the weird looking forest of Pandora again. This time however I wasn’t just with Leah and Josh, I was with Zack and Olivia. My heart pounded in my chest as I relived the nightmare that haunted my every waking second.

Olivia nodded her head slightly in my direction and if I wasn’t observing her I most likely would have missed it. I was about to open my mouth to ask her what she meant but I felt Zack squeeze my hand and mumble something under his breath. I didn’t catch it all but what I did catch was proof that I was about to meet my end, again.

He said, “Get ready.”

I went to push out with my arms to send Leah and Josh flying into the same trees that they sent me to in my nightmare and I was held back by Zack. He told me to wait.

“Wait? For what?” I asked incredulously.

“They are working out their plan,” he said and turned his whole body so his face was facing mine. “They don’t know I can read minds, remember? I can hear everything they are thinking and saying. I know what they are going to do and when, just wait. When they are ready I will give you the cue,” he said and kissed me quickly as he turned back to look over at them.

I saw Olivia inch closer to them as if trying to hear them. They didn’t pay her any mind which sent a chill down my back. She was going to betray us too. I should have believed Zack when he told me.

“Now!” Zack said and used his own powers to throw the two of them into the weird looking bush trees.

I followed suit and flung Olivia into the tree. I took her off guard and she gave me a wounded look, as if I had hurt her for believing she would betray me. She didn’t have time to speak though because I felt a cold steel knife go through my chest and heard Olivia scream at the top of her lungs. I looked at who had done it and I could honestly say that I didn’t know that person.

As soon as I fell Olivia was free from my powers and rushed to my side. Before she tended to my wound she flung her arm out and tossed the guy into the trees with Leah and Josh.

“Hold him there,” she said to Zack.

He nodded his head and used both hands to hold them all in place.

“I would never betray you, it was all part of my plan, Zack read my thoughts and he knew what I was doing. If Gregor is here that means the Queen isn’t far away, which means we need to get you out of here,” she said checking over my chest to see if he got anything important when he stabbed me. I was already healing when she checked me and she sighed with relief when she saw I was going to be fine.

“I’m sorry, I just, I thought you were going to side with them, I had these weird thoughts that you were giving away information about us to Christina,” I said to her as she helped me up to my feet.

“What have I done to you to make you think that way? I have done nothing but help you. Was it your mother?” She asked sounding sure it was her. Then she quickly added, “You know that we don’t have time for this crap, we have to go now. Zack kill them,” she said tossing him the dagger that was coated in my blood.

“Okay,” he said and sent the dagger with his powers into their heart. He dug it in and twisted it for good measure first Leah, then Josh, then Gregor.

“Okay, let’s go,” she said.

She snapped her fingers and we were gone.

****

I shot up in my bed feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t believe that I just watch Zack kill them like it didn’t even bother him. That of all things bothered me. I mean I know were supposed to kill them in order to keep them from killing us, but he didn’t seem fazed in the least. I would have hesitated at least a little. I then immediately chastised myself for thinking that way. Yeah Jackie, hesitate even the slightest and you will definitely die first. I checked the clock and was relieved to see it was closer to the time I was to wake up than it was last time I had a nightmare.

I got out of bed and showered, brushed my teeth and hair. When I was done I got dressed and went down stairs. Now I had two nightmares to think about all the time. At least I knew now that Olivia isn’t going to betray me, at least not yet. There is the doubt that keeps creeping into me. She hasn’t given me any reason to think that way. I wonder if Leah and Josh had that “vision” too since they died in it. I’m going to have to ask Olivia about it. I didn’t die and neither did Zack or Olivia, so I wonder if they had that same dream. My mother probably did since she is some sort of psychic or something.

I was fixing my breakfast when what do you know the Queen herself graces me with her presence. I wonder if I could say speaking of the devil to this situation since I wasn’t technically speaking of her.

“Good morning,” I said even though it’s not and she gives me the look that tells me she knows I had another dream and I’m avoiding talking about it with her.

“Yes, what a lovely morning, Jacquelyn,” she replied, enunciating every syllable in my name.

I hate it when she does that crap. Why not just come out and say I know your hiding something from me and I know what that something is, instead of using my name against me. Gosh she drives me crazy.

“Uh huh,” I said mixing my eggs a lot harder and longer than necessary.

She crossed her arms over her chest to show that I wasn’t fooling anyone and I needed to tell her now.

I just looked at her and said, “What?”

Dropping the fork into the sink and poring the eggs into the pan. I let them sit for a few seconds and waited for my mom to talk. I started mixing the eggs like I usually do, adding just the right amount of seasoning and a slice of cheese. Putting it in at just the right time so it’s melted into them, mmm it tastes so good.

She didn’t talk to me and didn’t make me tell her, I just continued to play it off like I had no clue what she was talking about. I finished eating my breakfast and then I met Zackary at the door. He said hello to my mother and we set off on our day of training.

When we got to the field I realized that no one was there yet. We were early but not that early. So I went over my dream with Zack and found out that he had the same dream. I confessed that I thought badly of him killing them without even flinching and then how I beat myself up for thinking that way.

“If it was me, I would have hesitated and we would all have died. It takes a lot of strength to do what you did without a second thought. I’m sorry were all going to face our deaths soon. I hope like in this dream we conquer and come out the victors.”

“I completely understand where you are coming from, but if you heard what they were talking about then you wouldn’t have hesitated either. And when Gregor put that knife through you I wanted to kill him right then and there. It took everything I had to keep my composure and hold it together. If I would have moved my attention to anything other than them and the tree they would have been free from my grasp and probably would have killed us. So I held them there even when everything in me was telling me to tend to you and your wounds. I had no choice.”

I knew he was right, it’s hard not to run towards the one person who needs you in order to save everyone else.

I didn’t get a chance to continue the discussion because the two people I was dreading to see showed up. Josh and Leah walked towards us, evil smirks on their faces. I played it off as if I didn’t know what was going on and greeted them as politely as I could.

“Good morning. Are you two ready for some combat training with me and Zack?” I asked, surprised at myself for suggesting that, but no one was here yet and I wanted to see what they were capable of.

Leah’s face lit up and she seemed excited to finally be able to train with someone other than Josh.

“You mean I finally get some real action?” She asked, not keeping the excitement out of her tone.

“Yes. You will fight with me and Zack will fight with Josh,” I said pointing at the four of us as I said our names. “This will help to give you two a better understanding of the depth of our abilities and how much harder you need to work to get them to be at their best. We have a few months left before we go to Pandora and I want you all ready,” I said to them looking each of them in eyes to let them know I meant what I said.

Although I had a double meaning which only Zack understood, they both nodded their heads to signal that they understood.

So we went into our two groups and started to fight. I told Leah, “Show me what you can do. Try and move me.”

She nodded her head and lifted her arm and swung it in my direction. I barely moved an inch.

“Try harder. Concentrate on what you want to move as opposed to how far you want it to go. When I was learning I focused on all kinds of things to get my mind and arms to produce the right amount of power to send the object flying.”

“Ok,” she said and closed her eyes.

When she opened them she had a new look of determination in them that wasn’t there before. She gently, but fiercely flung her arm out towards me. I felt the wind of her attack before I felt the movement it caused. I moved about a foot.

I told her, “Again.”

She kept trying to move me. Over and over all she got was about a foot. The last time she flung her arm out I felt a stronger gust coming and I flung my arm out too. I flung her two, three feet away until she hit a tree. I didn’t realized we had gotten so close to trees until she was against one.

That knocked the wind out of her and she looked shocked at the force of which I used on her.

“What the heck Jackie?” She asked as she tried to get free. “You didn’t need to be so rough.”

I stared at her and reminded myself that this wasn’t my dream, this was real and I didn’t even know if she had turned against us yet. I didn’t know when it would happen or how. I just have to reign in my anger. It took me a little longer than I thought because I kept replaying my dream over and over again in my head. Finally I was calm enough to speak to her again.

“You want to learn to control your powers then you need to know what it feels like to be in a battle with those same powers. When I say don’t hold back I mean don’t hold back. Give me everything you got. If you can’t stand against me then there’s no way you stand a chance against Christina and her minions.” Without a warning I let her fall to the ground and said, “Again and this time don’t hold back!” 

So she gave me her best and I have to say I was expecting better, especially from a firsthand experience of her powers. But she is still learning and she was able to throw me across the field before I was able to use my powers to counteract hers. I was midair when I used my powers and sent her flying back. She lost concentration on me and I fell. Knowing that I was going to, I was able to land gracefully on my feet.

She landed on the ground and hit her head. Surprisingly she didn’t pass out, instead she got up and flung her arm back to me and if I wasn’t ready for it I would have flown far. I planted my feet and pushed my arms out, sending a force that was three times stronger than Leah’s powers towards her and she skidded back still on her feet. She looked as if she was trying to stop my powers with hers, but I was too strong for her. I was about to send her into the tree again when I heard Olivia clearing her throat behind me.

“What do you think you are doing?” She asked in voice only loud enough for me to hear.

“Training,” I replied simply. “No one was here and Zack and I decided it was time to test our skills with different opponents.”

I let my powers go and Leah stopped skidding backwards towards the tree. My sudden change made her fall and she caught herself on her knees.

I spun on Olivia and had to remind myself that she wasn’t the enemy, but my built up anger wasn’t relenting. I flung my arms out to the sides and everyone who was within a close proximity was flung backwards giving Olivia and me a chance to talk alone.

“You had the dream last night too right?” I asked as soon as I was sure that no one could hear us. “You saw what happened? What I thought? What Zack did?” I asked with uncontrolled sobs.

“Jackie. We are not doing this right now. You need to get your shit together and we will talk afterward at your house when I come over for training tonight,” she said sternly as if she was my mother. I couldn’t listen to her though I needed answers and I needed to know what the heck I was supposed to do now.

“Jackie. Jacquelyn?” She said shaking me.

When I didn’t stop sobbing and nothing worked to quiet me she slapped me. She actually slapped me across the face.

That did the trick I guess because I snapped out of it and realized I had everyone pinned up to surrounding objects so they couldn’t move and get close to us. I even had Zackary pinned back too. I dropped my arms and everyone was free. I silently apologized to Zack in my head and he walked up behind me and said, “Its ok. You’re stressed. I get it.”

He then continued to greet everyone who had joined us.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Olivia after everyone moved to their normal spots to train. “I went too far, I’m over stressed and need a peaceful night’s sleep that doesn’t involve either of my previous nightmares.” I sat right where I was standing, pulled my knees to my chest and laid my head on the tops of my knees. “I just need a minute,” I said to Olivia and she took her queue to leave me alone for a few minutes.

I sat like that for the whole first half of the day. Just soaking in all my thoughts and the positive energy the others were giving off. As of right now I know that Leah is not against us. I couldn’t say the same thing about Joshua though, because I haven’t faced him myself and he looks a little distant from everyone else.