The wall opposite the sofa was made entirely of glass, allowing me to look out and see the somewhat strange ambient light that was illuminating the outdoor surroundings. How could there be a glass window in an underground cave? My sense of direction told me I was supposed to be underground, but here was a window looking out aboveground.
The sky was dark, but not fully, which was my first clue that something really strange and surreal was happening. Why in the world was it dark already? It wasn’t supposed to get dark for hours yet. It couldn’t be more than four in the afternoon at most. I’d had lunch just a couple of hours ago.
“Wow. Great window,” I murmured, rubbing my arms more rigorously to warm them.
I walked up the two stone stairs cautiously and ambled toward the window, needing to see, at the same time that the cold fingers of panic tripped up my spine. I had a fleeting moment in which I marveled at the way my shoes seemed to sink into the soft, carpetlike flooring, absently thinking that I’d never seen or walked on anything like it in my life, but just as quickly my attention was drawn back to the window.
Though it was clearly nighttime, there was still a lot of some kind of light giving shape to foliage below. It was enough that I clearly saw I wasn’t just not below ground; I was a few hundred feet up. I also noted that a Jurassic-age-like rainforest was right outside the window.
A few of the treetops actually reached the height of the window I was looking out of, and beyond that, a valley stretched far and wide. There were no city lights in the distance as I looked out. There was no ocean.
What...was going on?
There was nothing like this in Malibu. There was nothing like this in Southern California. How... What... Where... I didn’t even know what question to formulate. My brain was in such a sensory jumble, I couldn’t put a full thought together. The puzzle pieces were all oddly shaped and didn’t fit each other.
“Ryder?” His name whispered across my lips in confusion.
I looked up at the sky and gasped. There were two moons. Two. One of the moons was off to my right, low in the sky and looking very big—way larger than normal—whole and bright, while the other was up high to the left, looking smaller and crescent shaped.
“Two moons,” I whispered. My alarm blared. My blood pressure blew. My heart suddenly pounded triple time. No wonder there was so much light. Enough that I could see that I was nowhere I’d ever been before. I was having trouble pulling in air. “Ryder, there are two moons.” My voice was hoarse. I couldn’t take my eyes off the sky.
“Breathe, Taylor. Take it easy.” He was suddenly in front of me, his hands on my shoulders, trying to block my sight, but I was transfixed.
“What do you mean, take it easy? Two moons! T-two m-moons! There are two moons in the g-goddamn s-sky. Earth is a one-moon kind of planet. Where did the other moon come from?” My voice went shrill, but I couldn’t help it. Something was very wrong here. I felt like I was dreaming.
“You aren’t on Earth anymore.”
“What are you talking about? Where would I be if not on Earth? Of course I’m on Earth! This isn’t a good day to screw with me, Ryder. Oh, my God. Take me home. I want to go home! Where’s your motorcycle?”
“I left it in the cave. Back on Earth. We’re more than a hundred million light-years away.”
“Oh, my...millions...light-years...” Panic swamped me. I could feel myself hyperventilating. My vision tunneled. It shrank. Blackness closed in until there was only a point of light that I couldn’t stay focused on.
Not on Earth. Far away. Unable to fathom the distance. How. Not possible. Never see home again. Going to die.
“Breathe, Taylor!” Ryder’s voice sounded far away, desperate, disembodied in the growing blackness...
Chapter Eight
The black convertible Karmann Ghia was in pristine condition as I drove down the long coastal road along the bluffs. I could see the white roller coaster in the distance, where Santa Monica was supposed to be, and though I thought it strange that there was no actual city up ahead, it didn’t seem to matter. Somehow, that white coaster was enough, and it was where I was headed. The fair was coming to town, and my mother was supposed to take me there. It didn’t seem strange that the fair was not in Pomona, California, as it usually was.
Taylor, I need you to listen to me for a moment. The deep, autocratic voice grabbed my attention immediately, because I knew exactly whom it belonged to. It was a voice that I realized I was starting to listen for and anticipate.
Ryder had joined me in the passenger seat, looking dark, sexy and dangerous, his large, muscular form taking up half the space in the small car. A lock of his dark hair fell over his forehead, and my fingers were itching to run through it. What was it about him that made me just want to eat him up?
Rawwwr, was all I could think, looking at him.
I gave him a brilliant smile, hoping I looked a little like a sprightly wood-nymph version of Audrey Hepburn, who was always so elegant and seemingly carefree, yet somehow earthy and grounded at the same time. I was also hoping to alleviate the concerned look on his face with my good humor, which was a great way to make sure that the people around you always felt good about you and wanted to keep you. Good survival strategy.
Ryder! Feel like going to the fair? Though I suppose you don’t really have a choice at this point, because that’s where I’m driving. Isn’t this car magnificent? It looks good, it feels good and it smells good. Definitely suits me.
Taylor, can you focus here? It’s important.
You sound so serious. Let me see if I can put my serious face on for you. I pursed my lips into a pout, but I could only hold it for a few seconds before I started giggling. My mom’s going to give me her bracelet today. I’ve always loved it. She started collecting the pieces for it when she was little. The last charm she added was two sort of antiquated-looking silver hearts that were intertwined with a small pearl in the middle of them, and it was given to her by her first love. My father. Though I don’t know who he was. Sad, isn’t it? She never told me. I think she was too heartbroken. The hearts represent the two of them, and the pearl is me when I was born. I’d always loved that story.
This is a dream, Taylor. This isn’t real. You passed out. You fainted at my place.
Fainted? I frowned. I have never fainted in my life. I’ve never had the luxury of being delicate.
I know, lin’de. His rough voice gentled into a caress that rumbled through my mind soothingly. It was that soft, caring quality that made me see through the film of dream.
Are you dreamwalking right now? I tried my newly learned vocabulary word.
I had to. But actually, I think it’s better if you hear some of it in the dream state, so your brain won’t overload again.
Did I really faint?
Out cold. He smiled and my heart skittered with pleasure. It felt so intimate, meant just for me.
You should smile more.
Taylor... His smile faded, his eyes turning somber.
Okay, okay. Let me catch up here. Did I hear you right that we are on a different planet? Somehow, hearing myself say it in my dream was less of a deal.