Shattering Crystals

Please fasten your seat belt while seated and prepare for takeoff. Thank you for flying with us and we hope you enjoy your flight.

I exhale as I hear those words coming from the little speaker above my head. I lean back in my seat and close my eyes, desperate to escape California... and all that happened here.

Just don't think about it, I tell myself. But it seems the more I try to push them away, the thoughts come flooding back into my mind.

----

Whoosh.

The sound is like wind. Wind throwing everything away from Chelsea's mind, every unnecessary piece of information. The sound fades away and the room is silent. Everyone is still.

"Did it work?" Lynda asks shattering the silence. But she speaks so quietly that we would not have heard her under normal circumstances.

"We don't know," Lorraine answers. "We have to wake her up."

"Do it, then."

"I will, don't worry," Lorraine says. "But first, we have to explain to her why she's here, and why we're here. It's going to be the first thing she asks, I bet."

"Well..." Lynda says. "Like I said, it's unlikely that we can convince her it was all a dream. She... she barely has any dreams anymore. Not that she can remember. But maybe we can convince her she stumbled in here drunk. She's done that a few times..."

Lorraine nods. "Tell her that you were just having friends over. And I have to untie her..." Lorraine waves her hand over the rope and it loosens, but doesn't fall off of Chelsea's form. She unties it manually.

"Okay," Lynda says. "Do it." Lorraine places a hand on Chelsea's shoulder, clears her throat, and starts to speak in a hushed voice.

"Now that you have had your blissful rest, awaken to perform at your very best."

Chelsea doesn't wake up.

----

I cut off all thoughts about it at that point. Don't think about it, don't think about it. It's like a chant, repeated over and over...

"Are you okay?" Connor asks. He's sitting in the seat next to me, and I am sitting by the window. "I mean... after all that happened. It's not your fault."

"It is," I say. "Don't deny it..."

"It was an accident. Not your fault."

I turn away from him, looking out the window at the airport. The plane starts moving slowly. Too slow. It picks up speed once we get to the runway. I watch as the landscape blurs as we reach takeoff speed. The air pressure changes as we finally leave the ground. We're leaving California.

Just don't think about it.

----

"I wish all rooms were just like this," Elise says. "I can barely imagine staying in my room in Florida... but then again, it's probably not my room anymore."

The room is beautiful. Thanks to Lynda's never ending supply of money, we get to live in luxury. We're staying in the most expensive suite in the hotel, with a magnificent view of the azure waters. Things might have to change later.

"I could get used to this," Lorraine states, flopping on one of the huge beds. "Then again... I think I already am."

"We're not gonna have this all the time," I say, sitting down beside her on the bed. "Who knows where we'll end up next."

"We should have it while we can, then," Lorraine replies. She gets up and walks over to the large window. "And the beaches are beautiful. Who wants to take a walk?"

"I'm going with Aaron," Elise says smugly, as if bragging about having a boyfriend when Lorraine doesn't. They finally got back together. "So count me out."

"Wasn't asking you anyways," Lorraine mutters. She turns to the rest of the girls with a questioning look.

"I'm going with Wessley, sorry," Lynda says, pulling a brush through her white-blonde hair.

"I'm too tired," Ashlee says. "I think I'm gonna take a nap. I didn't get any sleep on the plane."

Lorraine walks over to our suitcases, unzipping it and taking out some clothes. "Just me and you, then, Dana."

----

The blue-green waves crash against the shore - a picture perfect moment. Our bare feet leave footprints in the warm sand, and the waves wash them away.

"This really is beautiful," Lorraine remarks as the wind blows through her hair, which is now its original brown color. "I can stand the heat for this."

"It is," I agree. "I just wonder if there will be anything like this on Crystallaria."

"There has to be," Lorraine replies, "or maybe even something better. There are a lot of planets, right? So there has to be something like this."

"There better be. I love beaches."

"What are they doing over there?" Lorraine asks, pointing to a group of people on the beach. They're holding cameras and taking pictures of everything and everyone.

"Photo shoot?" I guess. "Let's go see, then."

We walk across the soft, fine sand, squishing it between our toes. The smell of saltwater fills my lungs and I breathe in deeply.

"Hey, girls!" A man holding a camera says. "Can we get a picture?"

"Sure," Lorraine says, smiling. She smiles that smile I've gotten used to - showing only her upper teeth. I try to smile too, but it probably isn't very pretty. I haven't studied myself carefully, though. Things have changed, but I still feel I look the same as ever. When will Diana’s beauty bleed into mine?

He takes the photo and thanks us. He turns to some gorgeous girls, obviously models. We start to walk away once his attention is off of us. But as we start to leave, I hear a soft, feminine voice behind me.

"Dana? Is that you?"