Aisling Murphy's Arc

Chapter 10 of 12

Dr. Hartwell walked beside Aisling into the trees. The morning sun cut through the thick oaks and pines. Birds moved high in the leaves. Aisling knew the way now. She had walked it in the dark before. This time she saw everything clearly, and her boots were steady on the dirt. "The stone is close," Aisling said. "I need to touch it. Just once." Dr. Hartwell slowed. "Touch it, then we go back. You still need rest." She did not believe the dreams. She only kept her promise. But she stayed near, one hand ready behind the girl's shoulder. They came into a small clearing. The stone stood there, tall and cracked. Painted figures covered its face. Thin bodies, big dark eyes, strange marks between them. Aisling stared at one red figure. She knew that shape. She walked forward and pressed her palm flat against the cold stone. The clearing went quiet. The birds stopped. A faint shape pulled itself out of the rock, red and thin, with huge black eyes. Dr. Hartwell stepped back and gripped Aisling's arm, but Aisling did not move. She had seen this face in every dream. "Zyx," she whispered. "Do not be afraid," Zyx said. His voice was soft and dry. "The war is not coming, Aisling. It already happened. Two thousand years ago. I am long gone." Aisling's hand trembled on the stone. "But you talk to me. You show me things." "Because I live in you," Zyx said. "I am part of you. One of your past lives. When you fell and hit your head, you did not only lose your old memories. You unlocked older ones. The lives that came before this one." Dr. Hartwell stood frozen. She saw the red figure now too. Her mouth opened, but no words came. "In your dreams you reach your past lives," Zyx went on. "You can call us. You can ask us for help. That is the gift the fall gave you." His black eyes held hers. "You asked why the dreams feel true. Now you know. They are not sickness. They are memory." The red figure began to fade back into the painted rock. "The others still come for Earth," he said. "That part is real. You will need every life you carry." Then he was gone. Only paint remained. Aisling pulled her hand from the stone. Her legs shook. She turned and looked up through the gap in the trees, at the bright open sky. The same pull she always felt was stronger now. She understood it at last. Dr. Hartwell knelt beside her, pale. "I saw it," the doctor said, barely breathing. "I saw him. Aisling, what are you?" Aisling did not answer right away. She kept her eyes on the sky. The truth sat heavy in her chest. She was not one girl. She was many, and they were all awake now.