Ch. 70: Fall and Revelation

CHAPTER SEVENTY:
Rachel~
“Rachel!” Ally yelled up above as I tumbled and tumbled.
My arms covered my head on instinct and after a minute I stopped rolling down. Everything hurts. My side, my arms, my forehead.
“Rachel! Don’t move! I’m coming!” Ally yelled, her voice getting closer.
I tried to sit up when her hand pushed me down again.
“Stay still!” she yelled again.
“Hello - Yes, I’m calling from the student parking lot. My friend just fell down some stairs. She’s really hurt,” she said, likely to someone on the phone. “Yes I’ll keep her still. Hurry!”
I blinked and blinked trying to regain my sense of self. Where I was and how badly I had hurt myself this time.
“Ahh..” I mumbled as I felt my forehead, my hand flinching at the stinging sensation that it triggered. There was blood on my fingers as I pulled away.
“Rachel, stop. Stay still,” Ally pushed.
I wanted to nod but fought the urge. Ally poked and prodded me a bit in a gentle manner before I heard footsteps getting closer.
“Oh, Rachel,” I heard Ms. Arnhem’s voice.
I fought the urge to look again.
“Ambulance is on its way-” she crouched over by Ally. “How did this happen?”
“We were sitting here and we got up when the bell rang, I took two steps then heard her falling and called after her, I don’t know,” Ally said, worry coating her story.
“I’ve had the worst luck lately,” I grumbled from my odd position on the stairs.
We heard the ambulance in the distance.
“They’re almost here,” Ms. Arnhem said, holding an ice pack in some sort of paper on my forehead.
Really, the worst luck.

Ally~
Friday night in high school and I am at home, meditating and trying to astral project. The grimoire was still nowhere to be found and I again resorted to finding things online. There were different elements involved in this depending on which site you looked at, and I had a feeling we had found another dud.
“Ally, come eat dinner. We need to rest. Beating our heads against a metaphorical wall isn’t going to do anyone any favors. Least of all us,” my mom said from the doorframe.
I grumbled but went after her, knowing that objectively it was good sometimes to take a break. Sometimes putting your mind on something else and coming back could give you a fresh perspective.
After eating something, mom put on a new episode of this drama we watch together. I fought against it at first but she insisted, saying this was something we could lose ourselves in before trying some more.
And, she was right. By the time it ended, we fought the urge to watch another. It had ended at such a cliffhanger! But, it was time to get back to work. I went back to my room and sat down in a cross-legged position on my rug. I took a deep, steading breath. Then I felt my pendant get warm.
Ally, can you hear me this time?, my grandma’s voice asked me.
“Yes,” I responded aloud.
Good. This means you have centered yourself, she added.
“Grandma, I really need to find my friend, Kyle. He’s fae. A Dream Walker. I’m worried something bad has happened to him,” I said aloud.
Ally, you can respond to me in your mind. But we’ll practice that later. Fae, huh? Well, as strong as you will be one day soon. Today, I don’t think we can hone in that specifically. Let’s try something though, alright? I know you’ve been trying to astral project - I’m assuming to him?
“Yeah, it’s not going well though…,” I replied.
That’s okay. We’re going to astral project but you’re going to let your body take you to where it needs to go, my grandma explained.
“Okay…” I thought, unsure of how my body was apparently going to do that.
Alright, take a long, big, slow breath and recenter yourself…

I opened my eyes to find myself amongst some trees. I looked down and noticed I could see myself, but not really all of myself. My edges were faded. It was like being a ghost. I heard something ahead of me and adjusted my stance to be able to see beyond the trees. That’s when I realized I was at the complex Rachel lived in.
Why was I here? Had she been allowed to go home from the hospital? My poor best friend, hurting herself even more majorily than she already did. It was odd, she was always so coordinated when we were younger.
I saw something move as I got closer, and I froze. What was that? I blinked my eyes furiously, trying to clear my vision, like that would make me see better somehow. But then I saw it - a figure. It was climbed up by Rachel’s window. What a creep! I’m going to beat the-
Just watch, my grandma’s voice said confidently. She won’t get hurt. Well, not really.
I narrowed my eyes in anger. What did that mean?
The figure just stood out there, one hand against the wall surrounding her window. How was it doing that? A vampire? It reached a hand forward and thin ribbons of golden light came into its hand from inside. What was it taking?
Wait, my grandma ordered again.
After a couple minutes it dropped down slowly to the driveway below. And as the angle of the street lamp nearby illuminated it more, I realized who it was.
“What is he?” I asked my grandma aloud.
That’s when I realized my mistake. He looked right at me. Maybe he didn’t see me yet? He came running at me when my grandma ordered something new, Close your eyes, imagine home and breathe out slowly.
I did as she said and opened my eyes to see him halfway to me. Holy sht! Could I get hurt in this state?
Again, my grandma said.
I choked in a breath and focused more desperately this time. I pictured home, pictured my cat. And I slowly breathed out. This time I felt my body falling.
When I opened my eyes my mom was there in the doorway.
“Ally? Did it work? You were sitting up but totally unresponsive-” she looked at me with worry.
“I’m okay,” I croaked out. A big breath in and a big breath out. “It worked this time. Grandma helped. But…” I looked to the side in thought before continuing, “I don’t really know what I saw. Clearly it was something bad. I mean he was outside her window and was pulling… something from her.”
“Backup and explain please,” my mom said breathlessly.
“Rachel. I was trying to find Kyle but grandma said right now I can only go where my body takes me. Well, I was outside Rachel’s and saw this figure. He was basically floating outside her window, like on the third story. And this glowy golden light was going from the room to his palm,” I said so fast the words blended together.
My mom looked at me, “What else? You look spooked.”
I blew out a breath and swallowed before meeting her gaze. “I don’t know if he saw me… but I saw him. Vance.”