Page 89 of Visions of You

"I saw… my death again," Keegan managed. "But it was different this time. You were there, with the amulet. And I… I told you to do it."

Jaron's brow furrowed in confusion. "Do what?"

"Kill me." Keegan was quite sure of that. In his vision, he'd wanted Jaron to kill him.

But why?

"That can't be right," Jaron insisted. "You're misinterpreting what you saw. Why would you ask me to do that to you? How could you expect me to do that?"

"I don't know." Keegan couldn't explain anything to Jaron since he didn't understand himself.

"The amulet didn't help?"

"I don't think you were being controlled that time, so maybe it does." It just wasn't going to change the outcome of that fateful event, only the path they took there.

"Take another look," Jaron said. "We gotta know more. There's got to be something that will make this make sense."

Keegan rubbed his temples, trying to clear his mind. The vision still clung to him, vivid and unyielding and Keegan didn't want to look at it again. Jaron's insistence gnawed at him.

"I don't see how it will help," Keegan muttered, getting up to pace the room.

"You won't know unless you try," Jaron insisted, stepping into Keegan's path. "What if we're missing something important?"

Keegan stopped, staring into Jaron's eyes, so bright, so determined. In his vision, they'd been filled with tears.

He swallowed.

He really didn't want to see that again.

But Jaron was right. This wasn't the time to shy away from the truth.

"Fine," he relented, sitting back down on the bed. "I'll try again."

Jaron sat beside him as Keegan closed his eyes and reached for the vision once more. The familiar scene unfolded: his own death, Jaron with the amulet, his own resigned acceptance. But there was nothing new here, no hidden details revealing themselves.

Keegan broke free from the vision, shaking his head in frustration. "It's the same," he said. "Nothing's different."

"Try again," Jaron urged. "But this time, focus on the surroundings. Maybe that'll give you a clue as to when and where this is happening."

That actually wasn't a bad idea.

So far, Keegan had always been completely focused on himself and the dragon who killed him.

Taking a deep breath, Keegan closed his eyes once more and let the vision wash over him. This time, he forced himself to look beyond himself and Jaron. The edges of the vision sharpened as he paid attention to their environment.

They were in a large room filled with unfamiliar scientific equipment—metal tables covered in strange devices and blinking lights. It looked like a lab of some sort, but nothing he recognized.

His gaze shifted to one corner of the room where Apollo and several other victims were bound and unconscious. A chill ran down Keegan's spine as he noticed something else as well.

The shadowy figure from before lurked nearby, still hiding from his sight but unmistakably there.

Keegan's heart pounded as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Why would they be in a lab? What kind of experiments were being conducted here?

Breaking free from the vision once more, Keegan opened his eyes and looked at Jaron. "The kidnapper is involved," he said breathlessly. "They're in a lab with scientific equipment… Apollo and others are there too…"

Jaron's expression turned pensive. "Maybe we shouldn't be there," he said eventually.

Keegan shot him a questioning look.