A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,14

startled Jake awake. He felt a chill pass through his body and knew something was wrong. He sat up as quickly as his injured body allowed and pulled out his earbuds. He swiftly looked around, but only saw the shadowy outline of the trees and the moonlight dappling the ground through the breaks in the trees. Confused, he looked all around the clearing again, this time with deliberate purpose, but saw nothing unusual. All of the sudden, he realized what was wrong. It was too quiet. There were no sounds, not even the sound of the slight breeze moving in the trees.

Freaked out by the silence, he started to rise to leave when he saw the flashes of light in the pond; it was not the reflections of moonlight on the water, it seemed to be coming from beneath the surface. He moved cautiously to the edge of the rock and peered into the water, ignoring the sudden throbbing in his head. He saw a ball of pulsing bluish-white light seeming to emanate from the bottom of the pond. He stared at it for a couple of seconds, fascinated, concerns and injuries temporarily forgotten. He racked his brain, but could not figure out what would be causing that to happen.

With an abrupt start, he realized that he should be getting this on his camera. He was reaching for his phone when the light suddenly pulsed brightly. Before Jake could react, the light pulsed again and seemed to erupt noiselessly from the pond. He tried to move, but the light quickly surrounded him, squeezing him tightly as if he was captured in a giant fist, the brightness blinding his sight. He screamed for help, but no sound reached his ears as if the light absorbed it all. The light flared again and he could feel warmth spread over his body. Quicker than thought, he felt a sudden wrenching and the sensation of acceleration as if he were being pulled rapidly over an unimaginable distance.

CHAPTER FOUR

Wrapped in the cocoon of light, Jake could not see or hear anything. He knew he was still breathing and was aware of his body. The warmth of the light filled him, but he could not feel anything other than a sense of movement. It was as if his mind was disconnected from his body; the light was everything.

Without warning, Jake was thrust back into his body as the surrounding light vibrated and shuddered. He felt as if it had hit some sort of resistance, like a rock skipping across water. Moments later, he felt a violent jerk and the light seemed to darken. Streaks of the darkest black appeared in the light and seemed to whirl around like a tornado. He could feel a coldness seeping into the light's warmth from those streaks. The light blazed brighter and pushed the black away. The sense of movement continued.

The black came again, the violent collision stronger this time. Jake felt the jerking start again, this time rattling him to and fro in the light. The darkness crept back into the light. The light flared again, but this time it could not completely overcome the black. He had the sensation of being in the middle of a tug-a-war, with him the rope. The jerking became more violent, its pace quickening. Faster and faster, he was pushed and pulled, heat and cold lashing him, unable to do anything but yell silently.

Suddenly, he could hear noises. He could hear the sizzling, crackling sounds as the light and dark collided. Faint fierce cries echoed as the black strove to overcome the light. The jerking kept increasing; shaking him with such force that he was sure his bones would break. He felt trapped and helpless, unable to do anything. The violence peaked, noise and movement overwhelming his senses. He was striving to stay conscious amid the chaos when the light seemed to explode and everything went dark.

…

Jake slowly regained consciousness. He became aware that he was lying on his back, a warm light on his face, cool air moving softly against his skin. He opened his eyes, blinking against the sudden light. He could see the light brown branches of trees above him, with sunlight filtering though the gaps in the green leaves. He moved to roll over and felt his bruised ribs scream at him. He gingerly got to his side and gently pushed himself into a sitting position.

At first, he thought he had been dreaming and somehow moved under the trees