Fourteen

Leigh drifted in and out of consciousness, each dream more vivid than the last. Leigh had never been high before, though she wasn't sure if that was what this was. Mainly, she dreamt of kissing Madelaine and Ash. It was wierd. Leigh had only kissed one person before, and that was when she was twelve. She had been crushing on that one boy for months, and finally, he wanted to meet her. It was under the bleachers after school, and he kissed her there. Their relationship had been a short-lived one, lasting only about two months. Anyway, that's all Leigh had for experience.

Kissing Ash and Madelaine, even if it was only in her dream state, was different. Her dreams were interrupted jarringly. Her eyes snapped open, odd adrenaline rushing through her. It was about the millionth time this had happened.

"... Leigh!" Someone was yelling in her ear. "She's not waking up!" The same voice screamed.

Leigh moved, just enough to see Oliver's face. His brows were pinched together.

"Leigh!" He exclaimed, pulling her up in a sitting postion. "Come on!"

Leigh's head and sight exploded into technicolour. Everything was in high defintion, everything was colour and light that stabbed her eyes. All she wanted to do was slip back into sweet black and sleep, but that didn't seem to be an option.

"Come on!" Came Six's jarring voice from somewhere.

Ash's and Oliver's arms supported Leigh, trying their best to hold her upright. Her chin dropped down to her chest, her whole body feeling like mush.

"Jesus, Leigh." She could hear Oliver breathe. Ash stayed silent, her lips pinched together in worry.

Leigh watched everything blur by, and not a single thought hit her head as they dragged her out of the small white room, into a dank hallway. It smelled acrid, and she could see burn marks on the wall. Ahead of her, she could see Six, walking awkwardly with Madelaine's added weight. Leigh could feel her powers come back like a trickle, so she figured only the rooms had a suppressant. Maddy was thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, her long dark hair covering her bloody and sweaty face. Leigh couldn't see her eyes, but she wondered if they really were that gorgeus kalediscope of green she had dreamt of. A bright pinprick shone ahead, and Leigh wondered if it was heaven, if she and her friends had died. That couldn't be good. How would she save Sky?

She twisted her head around, looking down the dark part of the hallway. Was that hell? Or life? Was there really a difference? She fought against her friends, feeling herself fall to the floor and dragging her limp body towards the dark.

"Leigh! Jesus, LEIGH!" Oliver's voice roared.

He didn't understand. His sister wasn't missing. She needed to go back, find Sky. Was she really dead? Leigh fought them picking her back up, dragging her towards the light, even if it was certain death. Would she be tried? Would they let her stay in a pearl mansion with a street of gold? She wasn't sure, but she hoped that was where Sky would end up. Maybe that's where her mother was. Leigh's heart ached at the thought of her mom. If she died, maybe she could see her again, even just for a moment. She missed her so...

The light became unbearable, and she could feel the darkness ebbing in again. Was she already dead? Her whole body felt limp and useless. Oliver's and Ash's face were blurred and looked like someone had used the bug-eye filter on them. Leigh tried to clear her head by shaking it, but that only sent little sparks and bursts of pain cleaving into her scalp. She was dimly aware of her friends picking her up and supporting her towards the light. Leigh stopped struggling. She didn't have any energy or fight left inside her. Her feet dragged, and her throat felt raw.

Finally, they made it out, and the light seemed to stab her from every direction. The sun was shining high and bright in the sky, and Leigh felt like she was blind. Light came from all sides, burning her, scarring her, searing her. Someone was screaming so loud, so, so loud...

Leigh thrashed her arms out, trying to find something to stabalize herself with. Her ears rang, her head throbbed, and everything hurt. Every touch felt like electric fire, and not the good kind. Was she walking? Was she standing? Was she screaming? Was she silent? Nothing made sense.

"Leigh," said a calm, resigned voice. Leigh couldn't tell if her eyes were open or closed, but either way, the

light stabbed in like daggers. A dark shape hovered above her. She could feel her hand reach up, and brush dark curls.

Madelaine.

"Leigh, it's going to be ok. Just calm down. We're going to take you out of here, ok? Just listen to me." Madelaine's voice was gentle and melodic. Strong arms lifted her up, cradling her like a baby.

Six.

Dark eyes hovered near her, eyebrows pinched in worry and bandaging something on her arm.

Oliver.

A pale hand squeezed Leigh's fingers.

Ash.

She couldn't tell where they were going, but something loud blared in her ear. She struggled a little, trying to drop back down to the ground so she could curl into a ball and disappear. Dark curls brushed her head. A sweet voice sang a beautiful song, about a king and a queen and meadows and beauty. Leigh's mouth turned up into a small, painful smile. The sweet voice erased everything that was wrong. It sang so sweetly, the very wind seemed to still to listen, the light seemed to lessen, trying to hear. A soft hand rested on Leigh's forehead, bright green eyes shining with love.

Madelaine.