Into The Fire (The Ending Series) by Lindsey Fairleigh, Lindsey Pogue Page A

light gray slacks and white button-down
shirt, he looked like the guy every parent wanted their daughter to bring home.
I knew I was interested in him in a more-than-friends way—so what was
with the weird part of my head screaming, Wrong! This is all WRONG!
    Stop it! I told myself. I glanced around, taking in
the open kitchen, with its earthy, tiled countertops and wide island, and the
cozy family room adjoining it.
    “Look! There’s a fireplace!” I exclaimed, sounding like a
little kid spotting a horse…or, well, me spotting a horse. But I liked
fires; they were comfortable, familiar. After all, I’d spent the past few
lonely months hopping from place to place, relying on campfires as my only
source of heat during the cold, dark nights.
    The second I thought about that—about sitting around
campfires, isolated and alone—I felt the feeling of wrongness again. I couldn’t
picture a single place I’d camped, couldn’t remember any of the houses I’d
squatted in. I couldn’t even remember the details of my journey to the Colony
from…somewhere.
    I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think, to remember, but… “Gabe,
I can’t remember…I think something’s wrong with me,” I said, imploring him with
my eyes. “I don’t know how I got here…or where I came from. Did I come from
Seattle? I must’ve, but I can’t…I just don’t know!”
    On the verge of panic, I felt Gabe’s arm settle over my
shoulders, and several tentative steps later, I was sinking into the
comfortable embrace of a couch. After only a moment of hesitation, Gabe seated
himself beside me. I could see him out of the corner of my too-wide eye. He was
watching me, his brow furrowed.
    I opened my mouth, releasing a barrage of questions. “ Did I come straight from Seattle? Why’d I leave? Did—oh God—did Cam…did everyone
die? What about Callie? I just…I can’t remember! Why didn’t I go to Bodega Bay
to check on Grams? Or Massachusetts to see if Zo survived? Why’d I come here?
And why didn’t I bring Jack? And how’d I meet you? I know I knew you before I
got here, but how is that possible? And what about—”
    Gabe captured my hands, halting my words. “Dani, calm down.
You have a concussion. It’s probably just short-term memory loss. Everything
will be much clearer in the morning.”
    A concussion? I squeezed his hands, feeling like they
were the only things tethering me to sanity. “Please tell me…how did we meet?”
    “I found you when you were all alone,” he said, not taking
his eyes from mine. “I helped you learn to use your telepathy.”
    Right…that feels right. “Did we travel together?”
    His eyes flicked down to our hands, then back up to my face,
a plea evident in their pale blue depths. “Not exactly.”
    “Then how’d you find me?” My chin quivered as I said “me.” I
was trying to remember the details of the past four months, but I
just…couldn’t. This is not good.
    Gabe looked away briefly and muttered, “He wouldn’t have
taken that, too, would he?” He shook his head. “Dani, I found you by using my Ability, remember? I can visit people’s dreams.”
    The absurdity of the statement stopped my flow of tears
before it even started. “You do realize how weird that sounds when you
say it out loud, don’t you?”
    Releasing one of my hands, he wrapped his arm around me,
pulling me against his side. “Yeah, I do.”
    A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. Being in such close
proximity to him was making my stomach fluttery, in a really, really good
way. “You should call it something grander; visiting people’s dreams sounds a
little lame. Maybe you should say”—I lowered my voice—“‘I am a Dreamwalker.’”
    Gabe’s answering laugh was deep and melodious, and at the
sound of it, my heart gave an enthusiastic thump. I peered up at him through my
lashes. “So…should we explore upstairs? Check out the bedrooms?” Check out
the bed? It had been months since I’d been this