I woke up on my couch, covered with the blanket I had out for Ryan. I blinked my eyes and sat up. The blanket slipped down and I realized I wasn't wearing anything. "Great," I muttered to myself. It must have happened again. "Ryan?" I said a little louder, "Ryan, are you here?"
I stood up and wrapped the blanket around my body. Checked the window. It was locked. I turned around, running my hand through my hair and saw a piece of paper floating over the coffee table. I walked over and plucked the paper out of the air. It said "Please come over after you're dressed." Ryan. I didn't know he could make things float like that when he wasn't in the room. Pretty cool.
I went into my bedroom and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt. I looked over at the alarm clock. Almost 5 a.m. I wondered how long I was asleep. I brushed my teeth and tried to tame my hair but it was frizzy. All over the place.
I picked up my keys and cell phone and walked out into the hallway. No one else was around. I spun on my heel and knocked on Ryan's door.
He opened it and smiled. "Hey, come in."
I waved his note at him. "Neat trick."
Ryan nodded. "I thought so."
I followed him into the kitchen. He went straight to the coffee maker. "I already made a pot. Want any?"
"No thanks." I never ate or drank anything right after I woke up from...whatever these types of nights are called. Episodes, that's the word Ryan used before. "I was wondering what happened. You should know, right?"
Ryan grabbed his mug and the container of sugar and sat down across from me. "Oh yeah. You're not going to believe it."
"Try me."
"Have you heard of 8th Wonder?"
"Yes..."
He nodded and took a sip from his mug. "You're it."
"What?"
He shrugged. "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself. I stayed up after you went to sleep. Stake out, that was the idea. A few hours later, you came out of your room. In your pajamas, whatever you wore to sleep. You went straight to the window. Unlocked and opened it. I called your name. Went over and tried to talk to you but you didn't respond. It was like you were sleepwalking. You don't remember any of this?"
"No." I shook my head. "I mean, I thought I heard you call my name, but I thought it was a dream. I don't remember anything else. What did I do next?"
"I tried getting your attention. Tried to wake you up, but you didn't respond to anything. You just sidestepped around me and went out on the fire escape."
"Did I hurt you?"
"No."
"Good."
"But I had no idea what you were doing. It didn't look like you were going to jump, so I stood right inside the window and watched. Then there was a glowing in the sky. It came straight for you and hit you. Went through you. I don't know, but your whole body started glowing. You rose into the air and away from the building, brighter and brighter. Burning. That energy, whatever it is, burns through your clothes. That's why you wake up naked. Your whole body turns into pure energy."
While Ryan was talking I held my arm across my lap, my hand palm up. I traced with my finger the vein that runs from my wrist toward my elbow. Everything burning, but there wasn't a mark on me. I didn't feel any pain at all. I know I've had a dozen dreams like this, dreams where I'm burning but not hurt. I knew what Ryan was saying was true.
"Molly?" He put his hand on my knee and I started.
"Sorry." I looked up at him. "I was floating in the air. Did I fly somewhere?"
"Yeah. I saw you moving farther up into the air. That's when I realized it--you--were 8th Wonder. I've never seen it up close, but once you moved away, I recognized it. You. Sorry. I changed into my suit and flew after you."
That's what he had in the duffle bag. I might have guessed.
"You went west," he continued, "toward King's Lake.There was a lighting storm during the night. I don't remember hearing about it in the forecast, but it started a small forest fire out by the lake. 8th Wonder contained the fire and put it out. Then you ducked low over the trees for a fly-over. Checked for any people who were near the flames, but there wasn't anyone out at that time of night.
"I followed you back here. The process went in reverse. You hovered for a moment above the fire escape and the burning stopped. Then that light around you dimmed and you stepped down onto the fire escape. You walked back into the apartment and lied on the floor. I came in right after you and you were already asleep. That's when I moved you to the couch, left the note, and came over here."
I nodded after he finished talking. "I know what you're saying is true, but you're right I don't believe it. People don't even know what 8th Wonder is. And now, hey, newsflash. It's me. Of all people, why me?" This wasn't the worst explanation for what was happening to me, but even so I wasn't sure it was good.
Ryan held my hand between his hands and lowered his head to look me in the eye. "Hey, I know this is a lot. I have a friend who can help with this and I asked him to come over."
"What, now?"
"Yeah, at least for you to meet him." Ryan smiled. "I think you'll like him, actually."