As soon as I touch Ella’s shoulder, an image pops into my mind. I’m not sure where it comes from. It feels like when Ella talks to me telepathically, except there’ve never been visuals to go along with her mental voice.

What I see is horrible. It’s Chicago, the same lakefront area where Eight and I wandered around just the other day. There are bodies strewn everywhere. Human bodies. The sky is filled with columns of smoke from nearby fires. The surface of the lake is covered in something viscous and black, like oil. I can hear screams. Smell the burning. Hear explosions in the distance . . .

I pull away from Ella with a gasp. Just like that, the vision is gone. I’m out of breath, shaking, my stomach feeling queasy.

Ella has stopped screaming. She’s awake now, looking up at me with wide, scared eyes. I glance over at the clock and realize less than a minute has passed since Ella first started screaming.

“You saw it too?” she whispers.

I nod, not sure how to answer, much less describe what I just saw. How is it possible that I just found myself in Ella’s dream?

Someone knocks on the door and without waiting for an answer, Sarah pokes her head in. I can see Sam standing behind her in the hallway. They both look concerned.

“Is everything all—?”

Before Sarah can finish, Ella makes a sudden motion towards the door, slamming it shut with her telekinesis.

“Ella! Why’d you do that?”

“They shouldn’t be near me,” she replies, her eyes wide and frantic.

Someone tugs at the door, but it won’t budge. Now I hear John’s voice, probably drawn by all the screaming and commotion. “Marina? Everything all right in there?”

“We’re okay!” I yell through the door. “Just give us a minute.”

Ella pulls a blanket around herself and curls up at the head of the bed, pressing her back to the wall. Her eyes are still wide and she’s shaking like a leaf. When I try to touch her, she flinches away from me.

“Don’t!” she snaps. “What if I send you back there again?”

“Calm down, Ella,” I say soothingly. “It’s over now. The dreams can’t hurt you, especially when you’re awake.”

She lets me hold her hand. There’s no telepathic jolt this time, which I’m thankful for. Whatever strange effect the nightmare had on Ella’s telepathy is over now.

“How—how much did you see?” she asks, her eyes darting around the room, like there could still be some leftover nightmare lurking in the shadows to get her.

“I don’t even know what I saw, exactly,” I answer. “It was the city. It looked like something terrible happened.”

Ella nods. “It’s after they come.”

“Who?” I ask, but I already have a good idea who Ella means.