Dream Tunnel by Arby Robbins Read Free Book Online Page B

breaking some rule?
    The door opened, and light from the hallway flooded his room. Conroe was standing in the doorway.
    He sat up in bed. “Conroe?”
    “Shush.” She stepped inside and closed the door. The room went black again.
    “How did you—?”
    “Magic.” She sat down on the side of his bed.
    “I wish I could see you.”
    A flashlight beam appeared under her chin. “How’s this?”
    “Where’d you get that?”
    “I have my sources.” She smiled. “I thought I might need it to wake you up.”
    “I wasn’t sleeping.”
    She shined the light on him. “You’re not even dressed for bed.”
    “Yeah, I was just lying here feeling sorry for myself because I wasn’t gonna get to see you for three days—thanks to me acting like a complete idiot on the basketball court today.”
    “I thought you were pretty cool. You made some great shots, and when you dunked over that big guy—it was amazing. You were literally flying.”
    “Yeah, I surprised myself—I don’t know how I did that. But I shouldn’t have taken a swing at him.”
    “No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed. “You looked mad—crazy mad. That was kind of scary.”
    “I know. Sometimes my adrenaline kicks in and I just go nuts,” he said.
    “Is that what you call it— going nuts? ”
    “Yeah—and when I do, it feels like nothing can stop me. I feel super powerful. Of course, I’m really not, but that’s what it feels like. And then I do stupid things, like punching that guy. Losing my temper is what got me kicked out of my last foster home. I’ve got to learn to keep it under control.”
    “He did deserve it, though.”
    “Yeah, he did,” Crane replied. “Are you here so we can go to the Dream Tunnel?”
    “Are you up for it?”
    “Sure, why not? Hey, let’s take the flashlight with us.”
    “We can’t do that—it won’t work,” she said. “But we don’t need it anymore, right? We know what we’re doing.”
    “I guess so.”
    Conroe turned off the flashlight and rolled it under the bed. She lay down alongside Crane and took his hand. “Okay, just relax.”
    Crane felt her soft, wonderful hand in his. He would go anywhere with her. He closed his eyes, and they opened immediately. “How did we get into the dream so fast this time?”
    “You’re learning. It gets easier with experience. Run!”
    He followed her, running across the bridge before the fog could dissipate, using the handrails for guidance.
    Once they reached the other side, they didn’t even wait for the bridge to collapse behind them. She took his hand, and they ran into the Dream Tunnel.
    “I still wish we could bring a flashlight,” he said.
    “Isn’t it enough they we’re in it together? ”
    “Well, sure, but—” He tripped and lost his grip on Conroe’s hand, falling on the rocky ground.
    “Crane, are you okay?”
    “Yeah, I think so. These rocks are sharp, though. I think I cut my hand.”
    “Hurry, get up! We’re already getting some light.”
    “Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Then we’ll be able to see the— spiders! ” He jumped to his feet. “There are spiders all over the place.”
    “And I think they’re poisonous,” she said.
    “You think? ”
    “The wind is picking up. We’ve got to go now. Run!”
    She grabbed his hand, and they ran toward the light.
    The wind grew stronger, slowing their pace until they were barely moving forward.
    “Keep pushing,” she yelled over the roaring wind. “We have to make it out of here.”
    “Or what? Can’t we go back?”
    “No, it’s too late! The back of the tunnel is already closed off. We have to go out this end.”
    “Let’s just wake up,” he suggested.
    “We can’t.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Run, Crane! Run as fast as you can. Go nuts! ”
    Crane took a deep breath and by sheer will pumped up the adrenaline in his body to a monstrous level. He howled like a maniac, running into the hurricane-force wind with all his might, holding tightly to