"Are you sure you want to do that?" Max said.
"I'm sure I don't," she replied. "But if I don't, Jessica will die, and she's…" Isabel thought about how to explain how scared Jessica was. She was in terrible danger, and she was just a little girl on the inside And there was something else. Jessica had gone back to the closet to close the creature in… something Isabel was sure she would be afraid to do. And she had told Isabel to run, to save herself in that room. Jessica was brave and had tried to protect her.
Isabel thought of how to explain that to her friends and decided she couldn't… not that it mattered. What she had to do, they couldn't help her with.
"Maybe there was something in the dream we could use," Liz said, turning to Maria.
"You used to interpret my dreams. What does the room mean? The monster?" Liz asked her.
Maria thought for a minute and said, "Well, her room symbolizes security. When we dream about home, it rep- resents a place where we can't be hurt. The fact that the monster is threatening her in her room is odd. Monsters usually represent the bad characteristics of the dreamer.”
She shrugged and continued: "The large room without walls is emptiness. It usually means disappointment that a lot of effort put into something has come to nothing. The fact that she's stuck on the table is pretty clear: helpless- ness. All in all, not very useful. Sorry.”
"What if some of the dream images are real?" Isabel asked.
"Which ones?" Max said, looking at her with surprise.
"I don't know… what if the monster is just the guy threatening her? No, not a guy. She said they," Isabel said. "And what if she really is tied to a table somewhere?”
"You may be right… you probably are… but that still doesn't help us," Liz said.
"I'll have to go back," Isabel said.
"But not tonight," Max said. "If she woke up, it will be a while before she's asleep and dreaming again. You need some rest.”
Isabel nodded. She quickly undressed for bed, using her powers to make her shirt into a longer nightshirt. She was barely aware of the others around her. She crawled into her sleeping bag and put her head down. Though she was tired, she found that she was reluctant to close her eyes. Finally, she did.
She only hoped that no dreams came.
Kyle and the others went to bed right after Isabel. After watching her dreamwalk and hearing her tell the story, no one wanted to talk or play cards anymore. That was just as well with him. It had been a long day. He had worked a full shift, and then there had been that business with Gomer.
Settling under the blanket, he was suddenly very aware of the short distance between himself and Isabel… barely a foot separated them. It wasn't that he'd minded. It was just that… well, he knew it was a necessity. There just wasn't room in the small apartment to give anyone much space on the floor.
Still, he found he was very conscious of her breathing next to him. And, as usual, she smelled wonderful. Then he realized that Dawn was nothing compared with Isabel. No, not nothing. She seemed nice enough but, she wasn't what he wanted.
Well, it might be an accident, but it harmed no one if he enjoyed being close to her. His thoughts were foolish, he knew. She had just broken up with her husband.
Her husband.
Not her boyfriend, but her husband. And even before Jesse, when she was free, she had never looked at Kyle in any way other than friendship. Still, the thoughts came, anyway. And though they were foolish, he also knew that it wouldn't hurt anyone if he indulged in them.
Isabel started in her sleep, and for a moment, Kyle thought she might wake up. She didn't. Instead, her hand reached out and found his chest, and rested there for a moment. He found that the sound of his own breathing and the beating of his heart seemed deafening. However, no one else in the otherwise quiet room seemed to notice.
Then she was moving toward him in a sleepy haze. Kyle held his breath as she put her head down on his chest. He was amazed that the thundering inside didn't wake her, but she stayed asleep.
Well, he thought. She's had a scare. It's only natural. She probably thinks I'm Jesse.
Kyle regained his breath and slowly put his arm around Isabel's shoulder. He suddenly felt guilty about his thoughts about her. She was grieving the loss of her hus- band, and scared to death for some poor girl. And there he was entertaining a schoolboy crush.
They had more important things to think about now. Something awful was happening in this town. Liz, Isabel, and the others were trying to help. And Kyle knew what his own father would do. Sheriff or not, his father had never backed away from someone in trouble. Kyle would do the same. He didn't know what good it would do any- one. He didn't have Max's powers, or ever Liz's. He only had himself. Still, he would lend whatever help he could.
Isabel stirred, and Kyle looked down at the top of her head. She did smell wonderful.
Kyle knew it would be a long time before he fell asleep.
When Kyle woke up, Isabel was already up. In fact, all the girls were. He saw that Max and Michael were just getting up as well.
Maria was looking down at Michael and nudging him with her foot. "Come on, Space Boy, you can walk us to work," she said.
"We all will," Kyle said, getting up himself.
"Isabel, you should come too. I don't want you here alone," Max said.
Isabel nodded and said, "I tried again, Max. I couldn't make contact at all.”
Kyle stepped forward and said, "Maybe she's just awake.”
"Maybe," Isabel said flatly as she stepped outside. The others followed.
Kyle could tell Isabel was still shaken up. Something had happened to her in the dream. She was scared. That told Kyle all he had to know about what they were up against.
He had rarely seen Isabel frightened. Kyle had always thought she was fearless by nature, cooler even than Max. Part of it was her powers, he guessed. She could defend herself against almost anything. A larger part of it was just her nature, though. He had never seen her back down from anything from a fight with an alien menace to an uncomfortable situation with a friend.
Fear looked unnatural on her face, and Kyle found something strange rising up in himself: anger. He was angry that something would take hold of Isabel that way. She had suffered enough. She had given up enough. Instinctively, Kyle found himself walking closer to her. It was absurd. Of the three guys in the group, he was the least able to protect her or anyone else. In fact, if it were not for Michael, he might not have survived his encounter with Gomer.
Still, Kyle decided that anyone out to hurt Isabel would have to go through him first.
At the diner, Bell insisted that they stay to eat breakfast before the place opened. Kyle was glad. The food seemed to take Isabels mind off what was bothering her. Kyle ate quickly; he had something he wanted to do before work. He leaned down to Isabel and said, "Are you going to be okay?”
"Sure," she said. She looked cool and collected. It seemed like the old Isabel was back, but Kyle didn't believe it for a minute.
"Don't go to the Laundromat," he said. "Stay with Max and Michael.”
She started to protest, but Max interjected, "You can keep trying to contact Jessica.”
"I'll check out the Laundromat," Michael said. "I was the first runner-up for the relief-attendant position.”
"Okay," Isabel said. "I'll keep trying to reach Jessica.”
Satisfied, Kyle said his good-byes and headed back to the garage. He had about a half hour before work, and no one was in yet. Heading around back, Kyle found the minibus. It was sitting on cinder blocks and looking every one of its thirty-some years of age.