I sneak down the stairs, seeing Gabe in the kitchen. I tiptoe up behind him, then I quickly grab his arms. He doesn’t even flinch. But he does turn around and grab my waist, grinning. “Boo?” I whisper, giggling. “Good try, hotshot.” He murmurs, kissing me. “Are y’all just gonna stand there making out or are we going to the arcade?” Luke calls from the front door. I hear Lori laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Like y’all don’t ever.” Gabe laughs, pulling away from me. He grabs the keys off the counter. “He’s got a valid point.” I agree with Gabe as we all walk out of the door. “Fair.” Luke laughs, grabbing Lori’s hand. “I’ll drive.” He volunteers. Gabe tosses the keys to him. We all slide into the bright red Mustang convertible, Luke and Lori in front, me and Gabe in back. “Gabe, your job is awesome.” Luke sighs, starting the car and listening to the low rumble of the engine. “When it can buy you a Mustang, yeah it is.” Gabe laughs. When we’d gotten married we’d known one of us would need a job. Now he’s a stay at home editor for a movie production company… and makes quite a lot. Luke pulls out of the driveway. But suddenly I’m not in the car anymore. I’m back at Dark Core. I shudder. I’m in Gabe’s room in bed with him, curled up between his arms. I’m crying. “Man, you’re in a lot of pain.” He whispers, squeezing my hand. The now glowing crystal on the back of my left hand is faltering. “They have to stop. It’s hurting you.” He says, anger in his voice. “Hey, at least it’s not killing me.” I murmur, taking a deep breath and wiping away my tears. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He mutters, pulling me closer. Now I’m back in the car, wrapped in Gabe’s arms. A few tears escape my eyes. “We can’t go back.” I mumble shakily. “Hey, hey… you’re ok. You’re back here.” He whispers soothingly, stroking my hair. I press my cheek to his chest. “Where are Luke and Lori?” I ask in sudden alarm. “They already went inside. It’s ok. Nothing’s happened. Yet.” He says. He tilts my chin up to look at him. “What was in that vision?” He asks softly. I stare into his dark brown eyes for a second. Then I scramble up, opening the door. “It’s not important.” I mumble, stepping out. He stares after me for a second, then follows me. As I’m about to walk towards the arcade he catches my wrist. I spin towards him. He puts his hand behind my head, pressing his forehead against mine. “We’ll talk about this later, got it?” He whispers in my ear. I nod. We start for the arcade. But not before I see HIM. Jared Garfunk, ex-boyfriend, and current Dark Core worker. He’s on the other side of the parking lot, watching me and Gabe. Since it’s been a year and a half since I’ve seen him, he looks a little different. He has the pink streak of hair and pink eyes, same as me. I pull on Gabe’s shirt, jerking my head in Jared’s direction. Gabe’s jaw sets when he see’s him. “We need to book it to the arcade. Quick.” I hiss. We break into a jog. Soon we burst through the doors and look around for Luke and Lori. “I’m afraid they’re already back at Dark Core.” A voice whispers in my ear. I jump and spin quickly. Jared is towering over me, smirking. I grip Gabe’s hand. He turns and meets Jared’s eye. “Bring them back, now.” He growls. “Or, better yet, bring you two there!” He says, a gleam in his eyes. Suddenly we’re back in the dimly lit halls of the Dark Core oil rig. ——————————More below!—————————
“You can’t do this!” I yell. Jared scoffs. “Just did.” He snickers. Gabe steps forward, looking like he’s about to punch Jared. But before he can, Jared makes him disappear. “Where’d you send him?” I exclaim. “Jeez, calm down. He’s just back in his room.” He says, laughing. I glare at him, folding my arms across my chest. His gaze drops to my ring finger. “Ah, married, are we?” He asks, smirking. “Yeah, to Gabe.” I snap. His eyes lose their humor. “I still don’t see what you see in him.” He mutters. I throw up my hands. “Gosh! When are you gonna drop that?” I exclaim. Suddenly a big pink Padoriac crystal appears right beside me, just missing my head. I quickly step to the side. Then I make my own crystal. It appears right in front of him. He steps around it and grabs my wrist, reaching out to touch my crystal. It disappears as my fingers brush against it. I look up at him, meeting his eye. “Not bad.” I mumble. Slowly, not letting go of my wrist, he leans towards me. For a second I just look into his bright pink eyes. But then, finding my brain, I pull away quickly. I avoid eye contact. “Well, see ya tomorrow.” He murmurs. Then he teleports me into Gabe’s room. I stand there in the living room for a second, lost in thought. How had he almost been able to kiss me? Let my guard down, I guess. Can’t do that again. And tomorrow? What’s tomorrow? “Ella?” I hear a worried Gabe call from the kitchen. He rushes in, Luke and Lori trailing. He quickly hugs me. “You ok?” He asks, holding me tightly. “Mhm.” I murmur as he kisses me. Lori’s voice breaks in. We pull away from each other. “No one’s powers are working. Even when we got here and were just in the hallways they weren’t working. And none of our phones are working either.” She says grimly. “My powers were working in the hallway.” I say. “Hm. Maybe yours work.” Luke says thoughtfully. I make a crystal appear on the other side of the room. “Yep.” I say, going over and touching it. It disappears. “But that’s not much help. Mom hasn’t taught me how to teleport yet.” I say, shaking my head. She’s been teaching me how to use my Pandorian powers. I look around at everyone. “What do we do?” I ask quietly. Lori puffs out a breath. “I thought we were done with this place.” She says sadly. Luke hugs her. “We’ll get out.” He says, glancing at me. “I know it.” He adds. “Might as well go to bed. Something’s happening tomorrow. I don’t know what, but Jared said “see ya tomorrow” So…” I say. Me and Gabe walk to his room where his king bed is. Lori and Luke are sleeping on the couch. I peek into the closet. “Oh. Some of our old clothes are here. Guess they were prepared for us.” I say thoughtfully. “Something’s going on and I don’t like it.” He murmurs grimly. My thoughts go back to my vision. ‘I’ll tell him later.’ I think. Hey! Here’s my newest star stable novel, Running With You! Yes, it’s a sequel of Running From You… if you haven’t read that, I would recommend reading that first or this won’t make much sense. ;) Come back soon for chapter two! Next: Not here yet! :)
