fanfic_name = Ricks Rain

chapter = 17

author = Adam Scott

Rating = AP

Type = Alternative Universe

fanfic = Chapter 17

        I awoke to Lisa holding my hand. She looked disheveled and tired. She had been crying. I tried to sit up but couldn't, that's when I realized that I couldn't feel my legs and I had a brace from the middle of my back down to my toes. All I could do was squeeze Lisa's hand to let her know that I was there. Her eyes brightened, reacting to my squeeze. She had not noticed I had opened my eyes. Her gaze focused on mine and tears begin to flow down her face. I was intibated and couldn't talk so I held her hand tightly and closed my eyes. It felt good to have her near me. I wanted to hold her and whisper in her ear how much I loved her but this would have to do for now. Some how Lisa had come out with only a few scratches, I had taken the blunt of the damage. Did the baby survive?! I opened my eyes again and tried to reach for Lisa. My arm felt like it weighed a million pounds and all I could do was lift my finger to point to her belly. Lisa, noticing, smiled and nodded her head, then leaned down and whispered "everything is all right, the baby is fine". I sighed with relief at the news and closed my eyes again. It had taken every ounce of strength I had to do that. Why am I so weak? And why can I not feel my legs? Will I fly again? I can not give up flying, I belong in the sky! Then I felt myself slipping past the bounds of this world and I fell into darkness.

My mind raced through images of friends lost and long forgotten. Then they blurred into a mix of old and new. Some I could recognize instantly, others I knew I had never seen before in my life. Images of strange worlds and even stranger creatures, I dreamed of a world covered with little pink flowers and a crab like monster forcing people to harvest them. I dreamt of a strange world where everything was perfect, almost magical, but then the monster would return and destroy everything. Then I heard the sound of a small child, I could not tell what was being said at first but slowly it became clearer. The child is weeping. It's a small girl in a field of the same small pink flowers who had been forced into slavery by the monster. She is wearing rags and her hands are calloused and raw. Then the monster devoured her and the field of flowers. There was nothing left but emptiness and black. The monster had vanished. I could hear the muddled voices of people chanting. What were they saying? The voices grew louder and louder, rising into a cacophony of noise. Louder and louder it grew until my ears were throbbing. I couldn't stop it. The noise just grew louder and louder. I could feel it reverberate through my body. Then all of a sudden it stopped. I was alone in the darkness of my mind and then what the voices had been saying became crystal clear to my thoughts. The Invid were coming. Who are the Invid? I asked myself. Is it that monster? Are they coming here? How do I stop them? My mind was full of questions. Finding no answers my mind quieted itself and I found peace.

I started to stir from my troubled slumber and I could feel the warmth of Lisa lying next to me. I slowly opened my eyes to a darkened hospital room. It was late and obviously Lisa had refused to leave my side. She had laid her head on my shoulder and had wrapped her arms around me. I could still feel the cold metallic brace around my body but I could at least feel my thighs and knees which ached from not being able to move for so long. I tried to raise my arm again; it was still difficult but didn't seem as heavy as before. I managed to reach across myself to stroke Lisa's long brown hair. I startled her awake and she looked up at me and smiled. She nuzzled into my neck and gave me a kiss. Then whispered "I'm glad you're awake, there is someone I'd like you to meet". She groggily got out of bed and walked over to a small bassinet against the wall. She picked up a small bundle from the basinet and brought it over to me. "I'd like you to meet Roy Donald Hunter" she said with a loving tone. "How long have I been out" I thought to my self. I was still to weak talk. As if reading my thoughts she answered the question. "You have been in a coma for the last 3 months. Our son was born 3 days ago in the bed next to you. You had been alert enough to ask if the baby was alright the day after the accident but then you slipped into a coma". I motion in understanding and then pat the brace that encompassed my body from the mid-chest down. She grimaces a little and then lays the baby down on my chest. She crawls back into the bed with me and snuggles up against me. The soft warmth of her body against mine again felt good in contrast to the cold hard steel of the brace. Then she whispered in order to not disturb the baby, "your back was broken in the crash but not severely, they had to fuse several vertebrae together to stabilize your spine and the brace is to ensure that no further damage can occur. The brace will be removed as soon as you are able to hold yourself up. The doctors say that your spinal cord was pinched but they expect you to make a full recovery with time and therapy". At that she laid her head back on my shoulder and placed her arm across me and around the baby. I laid there, taking in the information. I felt a renewed determination growing inside of me. I will walk again, I will run and jump and play with my son and I will teach him to fly. Just like my father and Roy taught me. I've always said that I belonged in the sky and some day I will return there.

Lisa has been my strength even when I didn't know I needed it and I need it now more then ever. Will I ever be able to repay her for it? I doubt it. For now, I will concentrate on healing. Someday and I hope soon, we will return to the stars and complete the mission that Admiral Gloval gave to us. If the monsters of my dream are real, then its purpose is more important then ever.


State = Continuará/To Be Continue

feedback = Sí/Yes

email = jscott_73ATyahoo.com