Erasing: Shadows (The Erasing Series) by K.D. Rose Read Free Book Online

seriously.”
    The group turned to Trina to see the showdown.
    “I mean, it sounds great,” said Trina to Ed. “Can you fly too?”
    But Ed was right there with her. He winked at Trina good-naturedly. “Sure, but that’s hardly lesson one.”
    That shut Trina up for the time being.
    “So would everyone like to try this tonight?” said Ed. “If so, we have some prep work to do. If you’d rather not, just let me know.”
    “Yes, definitely!” exclaimed Mira. She was practically jumping up and down. Even for a twelve-year-old, she was overly emotional. Ed looked at her carefully.
    “Mira, you know it isn’t all fun and games. It can get scary if things get out of hand. I want to make sure you know what you are getting into.”
    Mira said with seriousness, “I can handle it.”
    Michael interrupted. He was taking no chances with this Ed guy. The situation had suddenly gone out of his control. And Jonathan was to blame. “The first thing for safety is this: anytime anyone gets lost, no matter when or where, this place right here—” He looked around at the hay bales, the gravel road and the oak trees— “this place right here is ground zero. Do you understand?” He gave a cursory look to the group but his focus was on Mira. The group understood because this was protocol from before. They all looked at Mira.
    “What exactly do you mean?” asked Mira.
    “He means,” said Jonathan, “that the physical presence of the surroundings here needs to be embedded in your mind and your senses. Then if you get lost, part of you will recall those surroundings and you will end up here. That way, also, if any of us get lost, we always know where to find one another.”
    “Wow that is really cool,” said Mira, “and makes sense.”
    Michael remembered showing her the same thing before. Years ago. Before three kids. Before their marriage. Before their first kiss. She had thought he was cool then.
    “So everyone, sit down on the ground. No, not there Mira,” Jonathan said, pointing. “On the gravel road. Sit down hard. Feel the gravel on your legs. Feel the breeze. Smell the hay in the field.”
    Everyone else, already familiar with the routine, had already sat, but Mira was entranced with the new directions and didn’t notice.
    They held hands and sat in a circle on the gravel. Michael brought their awareness to their sensory impressions—the hands they were holding, the gravel beneath their legs, the hay bales in front of them, the smell of the field, and the feel of the breeze from the oak trees. They spent a while taking in the sights, sounds, and smells.
    Michael spoke at last. “This is very important,” he said. “This place needs to be imprinted in your brain, not just consciously, but unconsciously. Enough so you would find yourself here in your dreams even if you were lost or not thinking clearly.”
    Everyone nodded. Mira spoke up with excitement. She just remembered her dream.
    “Hey, I did this already, right here! I came here in a dream and felt the gravel beneath my legs!”
    “Well, you’re a natural then!” said Jonathan, smiling, and let it go at that.
    But Mira remembered more. “And I met a boy there, he looked like— ” She stared straight at Michael, and he wondered if she’d admit to seeing him before today. “I don’t know, it was hazy,” she said at last. “Maybe it was Ed!”
    Michael closed his eyes and said nothing. Ed smiled but said, “I doubt it Mira. I keep track of my dream work consciously now, and I didn’t meet up here or with you until today.”
    “Wow, you really are advanced,” said Mira.
    Michael gave a sarcastic harrumph that Mira and Ed ignored.
    “Well,” said Trina, giving in to the inevitable, “now that we’ve established our emergency place, let’s move on to tonight.”
    Michael spoke once more. “I just want to be sure everyone has this place ingrained in their mind first. Is everyone sure? Can you picture and sense it blindly?”
    For the first