She felt a thick, nubby towel being forced against her mouth. She gasped, tried to move, but couldn't. She-Jane Doe-was paralyzed, and someone was smothering her.
The unfairness of it stung her throat as her lungs begged for air. Everything went black and then she saw the spirit standing over her. She leaned down, her blue lips frosted over. "They killed me. They really killed me," she said. "You must breathe, though. You must live."
Kylie's lungs screamed for oxygen, but she felt unable to gasp for the air she needed. Then she became aware that she was back in her kitchen.
Kylie heard Miranda chanting in the distance. She heard Della muttering that Lucas should give Kylie CPR. And Burnett kept asking questions to Holiday over the phone.
"Breathe, damn it!" Lucas yelled.
She pressed her forehead tight against Lucas's bare chest and pulled big swallows of oxygen into her throat. Tears filled her eyes, and she cried for the life that had been so brutally taken. Cried for the woman whose name she didn't know. Cried for the woman who, in addition to losing her life, had lost her child. How unfair was that?
"She's breathing again," Lucas said, cradling her tighter in his arms. "And she's crying." He dipped his head. "Shh," he whispered for her ears only. And then he said to the others, "I'm taking her to her bed. She's so cold."
Kylie felt herself being lifted in his arms. She vaguely recalled that he'd been the one to carry her to the bed that night weeks ago when she'd had the vision of Daniel, and for some reason, it felt right him being here now. It felt right when he lowered her on the bed and then crawled in beside her and held her against his chest, with his arms around her. And being so tired, too emotionally spent to talk to anyone, it especially felt right when she fell asleep with her head pillowed on his warm chest.
* * *
Unfortunately, when Kylie stirred awake a short while later, still curled up in Lucas's arms, Burnett, Miranda, Della, and Lucas all stared at her in shock and concern, and it felt a bit like getting caught French kissing a boy in public. It didn't feel so right.
She pushed off his chest, brushed her hair from her face, and gazed at all her onlookers, who stared at her as if her head might start spinning or something. Didn't they know their own abilities and powers were just as weird to those who didn't have them?
The words You okay? and a couple different variations of the same question came from all four people.
She nodded. "I'm fine."
"She's awake and says she's fine," Burnett said into his cell phone, which he held to his ear. "Yeah, I'll have her call you as soon as she's able."
Kylie recalled hearing Burnett talking to Holiday. "I'm sorry," she said. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to apologize. What happened wasn't her fault. Though she still wasn't sure exactly what had happened, beyond her getting caught in a vision about Jane Doe's death. Still, she supposed it was a good idea to apologize for causing a scene in the middle of the night.
She looked at Burnett. "How did ... Why are you...?" Embarrassment fluttered in her stomach. "Was I screaming so loud it woke the whole camp or something?"
"No. You hardly screamed at all this time," Della said. "I woke up when you were walking around the kitchen, muttering and, well, screaming just a bit. When I went to see if you were okay, you were, like, totally out of it. I mean, the lights were on but nobody was home kind of thing. You weren't here."
"Yeah," Miranda said, moving in. "And I woke up when Lucas was trying to bust down our door saying he had to check on you." Miranda looked at Lucas. "How did you know she was having another one of her dreams?"
Lucas didn't answer, and Kylie recalled that she'd been dreamscaping with him when the vision had started. Had he seen it, too? He must have if he ran here.
"I ... uh..."
Kylie figured he didn't tell them they were dreamscaping because he knew she probably wouldn't want him to share that with everyone.
"It wasn't a dream," Kylie answered, hoping to shift the question from Lucas. "It was a vision."
"That's what Holiday says, too," Burnett said, sitting in a chair beside the bed. When Kylie glanced at him, he added, "I was walking the camp when I heard the commotion and I came running."
Kylie nodded and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was almost three in the morning. "You guys should all be in bed asleep. You should go."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Burnett asked.
"I'm fine," Kylie said, and she was fine. At least she thought she was, but she needed to figure out what the vision meant without an audience.
"Holiday wants you to call her," Burnett said.
"I will," Kylie said, and the words scratched her raw throat.
Burnett nodded and waved for Lucas to follow him out. But Lucas stayed sitting on the corner of her bed. "I want to talk with her just a second," he said.
Burnett looked at Kylie, and when she nodded, he started out. "Keep it short."
"Do you need us?" Miranda asked, and stifled a yawn.
"No, you two go to bed. I'm okay. Thanks." Kylie watched both Miranda and Della walk out, and then she looked at Lucas. He was frowning, his brow crinkled and his blue eyes filled with all sorts of concern.
He leaned in a bit and spoke low. "Are you sure you're okay? That was freaky."
"You saw it, too?" she asked.
"I saw you being pulled away by two guys. But then all of a sudden it wasn't you. It was some other woman. And then it was like you disappeared in a cloud. I woke up, scared shitless, and I ran over here to make sure you were okay. When I got on your front porch, I heard you walking around and I guess I lost it." Fear flashed across his face. "Does this ghost vision stuff happen all the time?"
She wondered if he knew she was equally frightened of him turning into a wolf. "No. Not all the time."
"What is it? Why does it happen?"
Kylie hesitated. "It's the spirits' way of showing me what happened to them."
"The spirits who are haunting you?" He looked mortified and even glanced around as if thinking they were there.
"Yeah. But you can relax. She's not here now." She settled back against the pillows. And then, "It's not as bad as it seems." She recalled how helpless she'd felt in the vision. She recalled the horrifying sensation of being smothered to death, and her heart hurt for the ghost. Okay, maybe it was as bad as it seemed, but if it helped the spirit pass on, then Kylie would do it.