Two hours into the flight, I fought with my eye lids to stay open. After the fourth time of jerking myself awake, I finally broke the silence. “This is ridiculous. How could I possible be sleepy right now?”

“Maybe you should try to sleep,” Jared said without looking at me.

I nodded, settling into my seat. My leg jerked, and my eyes popped open again.

“Dreaming?” Jared asked with an amused smile.

“I think I was riding a bike to Germany,” I mumbled, leaning against his shoulder.

Sinking back into oblivion, my breaths grew even. It didn’t take long to let the airplane noise fade into the background.

The lights were dim in the fuselage. My eyes were blurry, and with the poor light, it was hard to focus. Jared had left his seat. I wondered how long we had been en route, and looked behind me to the restrooms.

“Jared?” I called back.

Nothing.

I stumbled to the back of the plane, and knocked on the lavatory door. When he didn’t answer, I opened it.

Empty.

My eyes strained to see in the darkness, but I could vaguely make out the top of Jared’s head. He was back in his seat, patiently waiting for me.

“Thirty-thousand feet in the air with nowhere to hide and you still keep me guessing,” I said, falling into my chair.

But it wasn’t Jared. Sitting next to me was Gabe Ryel.

I recoiled, the arm rest digging into my back as I leaned away from him. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s been a while, Nina.”

“I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” I said, perturbed. Knowing Gabe was behind my sleepless nights and the reason why Jared could no longer be within two blocks while I slept mustered up suppressed resentment, resulting in a bit more guts than I usually had.

“Talk Jared into turning back, Nina. We don’t have time for this.”

“Time for what? Why do you insist on being so theatrical? Just tell me what we need to do and we’ll do it.”

Gabe didn’t react. “Turn back, Nina.”

His eyes were black again. It made me more than just uncomfortable. His ice-blue eyes replaced by glass balls in his sockets was downright disturbing.

“No. Claire needs us.”

Gabe didn’t react to my insolence. He simply looked down at his intertwined fingers sitting atop his lap. He wore an expensive suit, the same I remembered when seeing him shadow my father, but his fingers were dirty and worn, as if he’d been digging in soil.

“Find the book.”

“How? Jared has talked to Eli, Samuel…no one will tell us anything!”

“This fight is not Jared's. It's yours.”

“Great. More riddles,” I said, crossing my arms. My muscles relaxed, thinking about the situation at hand. I looked to Gabe. Even with his shark eyes, he was still someone from my childhood that I loved. “Is Claire going to die?”