Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) by Samantha Durante Page B

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
    He knew it
obviously wasn’t okay, but he didn’t know what else to do. He wasn’t going to
get any answers – or know how to help her – until he could draw her
out of this state.
    Isaac rocked her for another moment,
his heart drumming, each second stretching into an eternity. His
mind was completely numb but racing at the same time; he couldn’t
seem to come up with even a single explanation for what had
befallen her.
    Finally, Alessa snapped out of it and
looked up at Isaac in a panic. “What happened?” she
beseeched.
    Relieved, Isaac released a long, deep
sigh. “I was hoping you could tell me…” he prompted
gently.
    Alessa dropped her head and gazed at
the floor, taking a few deep breaths before she looked up at him in
reply, her eyes almost frantic in the moonlight.
    “ I don’t understand it,
Isaac. It felt like I got… hit. But, like, mentally hit. Like I was at the
ocean, standing in the surf and a huge wave came out of nowhere and
smacked me in the face. But it was a wave of emotion .”
    Isaac still didn’t understand. “Maybe
you’re just overwhelmed with being here, seeing all this stuff from
before…”
    Alessa shook her head
vigorously. “No. It wasn’t my own emotion. It was someone else’s. Lots of someones,
actually – like hundreds of people. I saw all these –” she
considered for a moment, “– memories, I think. Babies being born,
kisses at weddings, birthday parties, families gathered around the
dinner table, school graduations. It was like how people say your
life flashes before your eyes when you die, only it wasn’t my life .”
    Isaac didn’t know how to respond to
this, so he just held her tighter and tried to swallow back his
discomfort. He was a practical person, and he didn’t like not being
able to fix things. If Alessa had twisted her ankle, he’d splint
it. If she was hungry or cold or lost, he’d guide her to safety.
Hell, even if she was sad over missing her sister, he’d know how to
comfort her.
    But in this case, he was
at a complete loss. Whatever Alessa had experienced – had been experiencing, he
realized, ever since they left the colony – was not supposed to be.
People couldn’t see memories that weren’t their own; that just wasn’t how things
worked. Only, apparently, Alessa could.
    “ Isaac – it wasn’t just
the memories, either. I could feel what they were feeling. Pain – just horrible
physical pain, the pain of death – and misery, and fear, and
regret.” She rubbed her face with her hands and gazed up at him,
her eyes shining with tears. “It was like I was inside someone’s
head as they realized it was over, that this was the end, that all
their dreams for the future – for their family, for their children
– would never be. A thousand times.” She clutched at her stomach, grimacing.
“Nothing has ever hurt like that, Isaac. It was – it was wrenching. It was like my
heart broke a hundred times over.”
    Just then a whoosh and a loud WHAP
overhead broke them from their reverie. Isaac and Alessa both
looked up, startled, and noticed that a skylight was hanging open –
it had blown against the ceiling in the wind. Isaac realized this
must have been the sound they’d heard earlier.
    He took her hand in both of his.
“Listen, Less. I’m not gonna pretend I have any idea what’s going
on. But you’re okay now, right?” She didn’t seem to be in pain
anymore, but he wasn’t sure if she was ready to be alone, and he
would have to leave her for a few minutes if he had any hope of
finding answers. “I want to go look around that room for a bit. Are
you okay to stay here for a couple minutes by yourself?”
    Alessa nodded, and flopped back
against the floor, exhausted. He was still hesitant to leave her,
but she seemed all right for the moment. He knew he couldn’t walk
out of here without at least looking for some kind of
explanation.
    He grabbed the flashlight and
cautiously headed back