Torn by Hastings Avery

Author:Hastings, Avery [Hastings, Avery]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

12

COLE

He thrashed in his sleep, feverish and sweating. Images of Davis’s frightened face flashed through his mind: the hopelessness in her eyes as she struggled to break the straps that held her to a narrow hospital bed. He reached for her, but every time he did, the straps held her tighter, until they were pressing into her skin, cutting off her blood flow. Cole tried to break the heavy, leather straps, and then he was in the Olympiads arena, tugging at them with Davis on stage in front of hundreds of people, and through it all Mari shouted, “Pull yourself together! Cole, be strong! Cole!” Her face was loud, real-seeming, and he fought to free Davis, but the voice was too immediate and distracting.

“Wake up, Cole!” Mari shouted, and Cole jolted awake, nailing his head on the top of the bunk he’d made himself in their old barn. “Must’ve been a doozy,” she commented, eyeing him with concern. Cole nodded, breathing heavily. It had been two nights since he started staying in the barn rather than returning to the Slants, but he was still disoriented.

Since the incident with Vera, he and Mari had been treating one another with tentative kindness. It was as if they’d reached some sort of understanding—a mutual respect. They’d seen each other naked, with their guards down, when they were helping Vera—and both of them had approved. Part of him was glad Worsley had told him to stay away, stating it would be safer for both him and Vera that way—the anxiety of the trip home each night had taken its toll. Even though he felt less on guard in the Open Country, his dreams were more troubled than ever. Probably, he thought, because he felt ineffectual so far away. He grimaced, pushing the thought from his mind. He was here to train. To get stronger. So he could make a difference. He had to remember that.

He reached for the thin handkerchief Mari extended, and wiped the sweat from his upper back and brow. “Pull yourself together,” she told him, an echo from his dream. “We’re going out for testing. You need to challenge your senses in the dark. It’s the only way for them to develop. And Cole … put a shirt on.”

Cole cleared his throat, feeling his face heat. He was glad it was too dark for her to see too much … except, apparently, his shirtless torso.

“Okay. Just give me a minute,” he told her.

After Mari left, Cole struggled to do exactly what she’d asked—pull himself together—but he was still shaken from the nightmare. It had felt so real. Davis had needed him, and he wasn’t able to get to her quickly enough.

When he pulled on his sweatpants and stumbled outside, feeling around in the dark to get his bearings, Mari was already waiting for him. It wasn’t a clear night; there was barely even any moonlight to illuminate the landscape. The cold night breeze caused goose bumps to rise on his skin, and Cole shivered.

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