Men of the Cave (Symbol of Hope Series) by Marisette Burgess Read Free Book Online Page B

sleep.
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    I’m standing on a cloud, a hazy mist, cool in temperature, surrounding my feet. Somehow, I move forward even though I wasn’t walking. It was on a moving sidewalk. On my left, I pass a young couple sitting on a bench drinking coffee in the nude. They don’t see me. I shudder with a cold chill. On my right, I pass Dion in his stunning blue shirt. He hops onto the moving sidewalk and wraps his arms around my waist. His embrace feels tight and cozy. Just ahead, I see the back of a red sofa with two people on it. In front of the couch there’s a coffee table with a bonsai on it.
    We approach the sofa. It spins around and another couple sits there pruning the bonsai tree. They are my parents, naked. “Sue! Frankie! What are you doing?” I scream. As I utter the words, Dion pushes me away with disgust. He shoves me so hard that I fall off the sidewalk and into the cool hazy mist. I fall into nowhere and nothing. Then gravity and wind start to pull my clothes off my pale body. First, I lost my shoes, and then my pants and my shirt followed. I fell into a white cool haze in only my underwear and bra. The mist is cold and my skin feels like a corpse. The haze subsides and everything is black.
    That’s when the strange force of nature rips off the only two garments left on me. Still falling, below me, I see I’m heading for a big black jar.  The jar had hieroglyphic writings and trimmings in gold. On the top was the word “ Pandora .” I fell into the jar and the lid closed.
    ******
     
    I hit the floor of my bedroom with a harsh thud. I checked myself over and was extremely relieved to see my plaid pajama pants and purple t-shirt still on my body. Taking a deep breath and pulling myself together, I glanced at the clock on the desk. If I hadn’t fallen out of bed already, I would have again. It was almost eleven thirty in the morning! Thankful it was Saturday, I stretched and prepared for a run. I couldn’t believe that I slept that long. I needed to decompress. Slipping into my green track shorts and pulling my hair back, I prepared my IPod. With music blaring, I concentrated on the goal to get outside and run ignoring everyone I passed in the restaurant.
    I headed up the street toward the cliffs. The run was peaceful with hardly any cars on the cobblestone street. Stunning hedges and ornate iron gates lined the road at every driveway entrance. I enjoyed pumping the salty air through my lungs. It was almost impossible to keep my mind off all the mayhem that was happening.
    One thought though, one thought was a piercing knife in my mind, him. Nolan would be living with him. What was his motive for taking my brother in? Did he think I would come running into his arms when I came back? I had been avoiding his phone calls, but now I thought I owed him a chat. I wanted to talk to him about Nolan, and a small, a very small, part of me wanted to hear his voice.
     After crossing the street, I came up to an open black iron gate with golden tipped spearheads. The nameplate on the gate read, “KLEON.” I slowed my pace way down. All this time riding in Dion’s Mini Cooper we never talked about where he lived. I was not surprised to see that the Kleons lived in an art deco style mansion. From the look of the property size, it appeared as if they owned a good chunk of land along with the beautiful home. A forest of Junipers surrounded the house. No one would ever know that the ocean lay on the other side of the mansion. I decided that a chat with Dion would be a great distraction, so I invited myself into the open gate.
    Half way up the long driveway, I heard the most unusual sound. “Clink, tink, tank.” The sound repeated with different rhythms. I couldn’t make out what it was, but it sounded metallic. Following the sound, I walked into the forest. I didn’t keep track of where I was, and realized I couldn’t see the driveway or the beautiful house. I started to panic. I hoped the sounds would lead me