”I think… I wouldn't be surprised but… Is he still hurt?” Liz asked as she tried to calm down. ”I can't imagine what… He didn't even look like himself, all burnt up and… I think he was missing a couple of limbs.. and the whole time that b@$+@rd was toying with me.” she rambled, growing angry at Carshmail. ”He pretended to be James first, then he…” she sighed and shook her head. ”I’m sorry, Elder. I didn't mean to unload all of that on you. I’ll make an official report to the captain.”
"It's fine child. And… It is entirely possible that whatever torture he faced will bring him extreme trauma. And a possible change of personality." He took a deep breath.
"For now, you should look after him, I shall consult with my people and see if we can create an antidote for his problem."
Liz nodded, drying her eyes again. It made sense to her that James would have some form of PTSD… after everything he went through… She would honestly be surprised if it wasn't a stronger type. ”Thank you, Elder. I will stay and take care of him.” she agreed.
Helwaz left, leaving Liz and James in the medbay.
James quietly lay there, his breathing stable and his mind at rest. It almost seemed like nothing had happened.
Liz sat on the edge of James’ bed, holding his hand and not taking her eyes off him. The steady sounds of the machines monitoring his vitals was almost reassuring to her.
James awoke again, though this time in a calmer state, he brought his shaking hand up to her face and opened his eyes, looking at Liz silently as tears fell.
"I-I… I l-love you." He struggled to say as his quiet voice broke the silence. He then took a deep breath, trying hard not to think about certain things.
”I love you too.” Liz whispered, placing her hand over his. ”I’m so… glad you're awake. You…” she trailed off, she didn't want to bring up any bad memories.
"I…" He took a deep breath.
"What happened… After, you know… I just feel the pain, the suffering, th-the feeling of me being…" He became silent as he sighed.
”He came into the cave… pretending to be you.” she told him gently. ”I knew something was wrong… but I didn't know what until he shifted back. I fought him… and he threw you at my feet as he left.” she closed her eyes tightly, shuddering as she tried to force the image out of her head. ”After… I was able to get you to the lake and…” she sighed, not knowing how to explain the rest of what happened.
"Did he try to do anythi-thing?" He asked worriedly, looking at her as his bloodshot eyes watered up.
"Liz… Did he?" He tried to kiss her forehead but it seemed as if he was paralysed in fear, in pain, in shock.
Liz shook her head fiercely at the question. ”No. Nothing happened.” she assured him. ”I mean… He wanted to… I think… but I said no. That's when he showed me he wasn't you.”
"Hm?" He frowned and looked at her.
"Wha-what did that b*stard do to you?" He asked, looking at her.
”Nothing. It just seemed… to me, that you had just walked out of the cave so we could test if the fish was safe for us to eat and then came back.” she told him. ”At first ”you” were acting distant again and you felt like ice. Then I know I saw a red flash and ”you” started acting… almost normal again. He… While he was still you… He kissed me. That's all. That's when I knew something was wrong.” she said calmly to reassure him. ”I’m more worried about what he did to you.”
"It's… Fine." He sighed looking away.
"Why do these things keep happening to us?" He murmured, looking at the lights above.
"This constant torture, of the thought at the back of your head saying, 'Will we survive the next day?'"
She sighed and gently kissed his cheek. ”You don't have to tell me.” she said softly. But I know it's not fine. Liz looked at him, shaking her head a little. ”I don't know why this happens… All we can do is try to be stronger.”
"You're right." He said.
"How long have we been sleeping for?" He asked as he closed his eyes, trying hard to get certain images out of his head.
”I don't know.” she laughed a little softly. ”As soon as I woke up, I wanted to make sure that you were ok and would wake up too.” she admitted. ”I was so worried.”
"Well… Everything is fine now," He forced a smile and held her hand softly, looking at her with a loving yet complex gaze.
She smiled back, teary-eyed, as they held hands. She wasn't sure if things were really better yet… but she was glad James was back. ”We… I think we're going to have to tell the captain about this guy. I don't know if he's only a threat in dreams or what but…” she sighed, her eyes closing at the memories from before she woke up.
"If that g-guy comes…" James clenched his right hand tightly.
"I'll m-make sure he dies the same way I did." His pupils turned black once again before quickly turning to normal.
He then brushed away the tears and looked up at her.
"All will be alright, don't worry." He said reassuringly.
”I don't want to lose you again. I don't want you to get hurt.” Liz said, shaking her head at the idea. ”I… I want to believe you. That everything will be alright, but… Carshmail is… He’s not from this planet.” she told him. ”Elder Helwaz thinks he might be from human mythology.”
James looked at her, eyes widened.
"T-that man is from… Earth?" He stuttered, thoughts flying past in his head.
"Are you sure? Is he sure?" He asked shock filling him quickly.
Liz held his hand a bit tighter, to hopefully reassure him. ”I don't think either of us are sure. I've never heard of him before and Elder Helwaz said he hadn't either.” she said.
James took a deep breath before sighing once again.
"I'm sorry, I made you cry and made you sad, I'll make sure that never happens again." He said as he forced himself to get up, kissing her softly.
"No matter what happens, I will strive to make you happy for all of eternity. That I promise."
Liz sighed softly as she returned the kiss. ”You didn't do either of those things. It wasn't you… just losing you.” she whispered. ”I don't want that to happen again.”
"It won't…" He said as he hugged her softly.
He then closed his eyes and just let things go, not thinking about anything but the future, nothing about some dream that caused him pain but rather a bright, happy future.
She nodded, closing her eyes as she gently returned the hug. ”Thank you, love. Thank you.” she whispered a little relieved by his words. She knew that it was a near-impossible thing to promise, but it did make her feel a little better. ”I love you.”
"I love you too." He smiled brightly, almost letting sleep takeover him.
"I just wish all this fighting could finish quickly, then we could think about our future." He said.
”So do I.” She nodded. ”No more Empire. No more Swarm. That sounds nice.” she sighed softly at the wistful thought. She wasn't going to mention Carshmail again right now, though she wanted him gone too. But she wasn't sure how James would react to finding out that he was responsible for the Swarm in the first place.
"I hope there isn't any other enemy we have to face, that way we can finish all this and not have to fight more and lose more people. And.. I don't want to lose you especially." He said softly.
