The walls shudder to a stop a half-second before I fade. My vision blurs so I blink a few times allowing myself to adjust. The dream shifted, I realize as I take in my new surroundings. We're lying in a long white hallway lined with purple lockers. Jake takes off in a sprint like he's running away from us.
"Follow him," Javier says.
The four of us scramble to our feet. I kick off my heels and pump my arms, racing until I catch up with Jake.
I grab his hand to keep him from getting away, and once again, there's that shock, shivering through me as if his touch has awakened something inside me. Colors swirl around us like a kaleidoscope, and the dream switches again.
My stomach rolls and I press my eyes closed to allow myself to adjust. When I open my eyes, I realize I'm sitting in the front seat of the car. Jake grins at me from the driver's seat, saying, "Put your seatbelt on."
My hands shake. This dream is out of control. Maybe it's because usually, we enter the dreams of those who are elderly or have forgotten so much of their past. I'm not sure. But one thing I do know about Jake, he's got a wild, dangerous side to him.
I glance over my shoulder to see how the others handled the transition, but they've vanished. Our rule is to never confront the dreamer or ask questions because often it pulls them out of the dream. But I have to know where my team is.
"Where are my friends?" I ask.
"Friends?" he says.
I'm about to ask him more questions when he presses a button that says LAUNCH BOOSTERS. The car jerks forward as Jake sends it into full throttle, and my head smashes against the headrest. We fly down an open highway, whizzing by trees and houses.
"What is this?" I laugh uneasily. "A Batman car?"
He grins sheepishly. "Do you like it?"
"Uh—yeah. It's pretty awesome. Where are we going?"
"I have something special to show you."
My heart skips. Could he be taking me to the Vault?
A whoosh of air floods the car and instantaneously we are transported to the temple that I suspected was the Vault while in his last dream. The car has vanished, leaving us standing at the temple's entrance. A full moon beams pale shafts of light across the grounds. Mist floats across the stones like ghosts. I shiver and cross my arms, deciding this place is a little too creepy.
But I'm about to enter a Vault, I tell myself. This is a huge moment in dream therapy!
Like before, the green numbers move across the doors, bright like the color of Grams' ring. It's almost as if the numbers are a secret code. I squint, trying to get a better visual of it. If my mind can process what I'm seeing, the computer back in the MaxLife lab should be able to transfer these images into the mainframe at the lab.
Jake touches the door, and it creaks open. Together we step inside, my floor-length dress brushing across the crumbling tiled floor.
Eagerly, I take in my surroundings, hoping against hope it's the Vault. We're standing in a hall packed with rows of tall rectangular boxes, clear as crystal. Inside each box are all different kinds of objects. Stone pillars engraved with mathematical symbols stretch to a stalactite-riddled ceiling and vines twist over everything within sight.
I try to process what I'm seeing. This place can't possibly be somewhere he's actually been, could it? I dart a glance at Jake. A green glow illuminates his face, and his forehead is wrinkled like he's thinking.
I creep closer to one of the clear boxes and press my hand on top. This one has green symbols inside. As if responding to my touch, numbers spiral out of the box like a vortex, rising toward the ceiling.
"What do these numbers mean?" I ask.
"It's a game I created. I'll show you the others."
Intrigued, I trail after him. In the corner, I spy a box with a worn stuffed dragon inside, orange with plates running along its back. Another is packed full of superhero action figures. Batman stands on the top, a long black cloak spilling out behind him. Everything clarifies in my mind. These are the things that mean the most to him.
A voice shocks the air, droning on about how Jake needs to choose a major for college. It's coming from a man inside one of the boxes. Computer codes float about his head and money spills out of his pockets. I recognize him as the man we saw at the table eating dinner in the dream the other night.
"Your dad?" I ask.
Jake nods, but he doesn't seem concerned about his dad. Instead, he's staring hard at the stream of code in the air.
"Is that one of your game's codes?"
"No." He rubs the side of his jaw. "This is a secret one. I found it the other day just to prove to my dad that I'm smarter than the other wannabe's at his work."
"Did he believe you?"
"I haven't shown him yet."
Suddenly, being here feels wrong. Intrusive. This place is for him and maybe someone who he trusts with his deepest, darkest secrets. Not some girl who travels weekly through a patient's dreams. Not a random classmate or an intern trying to make a breakthrough in science. An uneasy feeling sinks inside my gut. Has Jake been told all the details of what MaxLife really does? If this place is so secretive and special, would he be okay with a bunch of scientists seeing all this and studying it?
"I should leave."
"Don't." Jake turns and he cups his hands around my face, sending my heart into a fierce dive.
I stare into his eyes, and then my gaze trickles down to his mouth. I need to pull him closer. Feel those lips against mine. He leans into me.
Maybe dreams are a place where the impossible rules and thrives. A place that digs out our most secret desires.
But no. I can't.
I back away, creating enough space between the two of us so I can escape and fade.