Page 51 of The Guru: Shadow

I can’t breathe.

Stop!

The sound of rushing water filled her ears from left, right, and center.

Where am I?

I am drowning.

And she completely lost control over where was up and where was down.

I need to get out.

I need to breathe.

But as she stood up, there was nothing. Nowhere to go as more sounds of water, explosions and wind rushed around her.

She started to spin, trying to follow the sounds until her dizzy, bedazzled self could not feel the floor under her feet anymore.

And as she fell to the floor, silence filled the room again.

Breathe, Emma, breathe.

Footsteps issued through the room, and they drew nearer. And nearer. And nearer. Until a dark, controlled voice, a sound she’d never forget, whispered in her ear while his breath blew soft against it.

“Did you miss me, love?”

And the moment his words hit her mind, everything went blank. Her throat clenched; there was no more air to breathe as images of her past rushed into her mind.

Engulfing her.

Taking over as the world around her disappeared.

A scream resounded in her ears, shattering her insides.

It was her own.

“Emma.”

“Em!”

“Why wasn’t she flagged?” asked a female voice.

“Clean history.”

“She sure as hell hasn’t, I’ve known her since childhood, it was a mess.”

Julie’s voice.

“But her checkup chart is empty!”

“Meera, calm down, people lie all the time, this one’s your first. Happened before, will happen again.”

“Emma.”

Voices. So many voices.

“Emma, focus on my voice.” It was his voice. So grounding. But there were so many memories. So many memories.