Devon Alone V: The Dream, The Dark and The Light by Nicole Mayer

[Reviews - 0]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer

- Text Size +

DEVON, ALONE Part V
The Dream, the Dark, and the Light (2/11)
by Nicole Mayer

Uly was racing through the field of grass, and Devon smiled joyfully. She'd been happy the first time she'd seen her son run, unaided as a happy and healthy child, but those emotions paled in comparison to *this*. This time, she was elated merely because Uly was alive, not dead like the nightmare Blalock had taunted her.

*No, don't think of that!* Devon quickly chided herself. She concentrated her attention on Uly, who raced up to her. The boy was puffing as he gasped, "Did you see how fast I went? Did you, Mom?"

"Yes," laughed Devon. "You're definitely faster than a koba." Uly grinned with pride and collapsed in a weary heap at his mother's feet. "I bet True can't run that fast."

"Probably not," Devon agreed, automatically looking around for the girl. She hadn't realised before now that True was very important to her as well. Devon had missed True, just as she missed Alonzo . She would have to spend more time with both of them.

And more time with Julia. Most definitely Julia - she couldn't bear to think of her friend not existing. But for now, she was playing with her son, and Devon couldn't think of anything else she'd rather be doing.

Uly watched his mother as she gazed wistfully around, and a wiseness came over his young features. His links with the Terrians gave him insight into adult emotions and he sensed that something was wrong with Devon. It was his duty to cheer her up, so he impulsively grabbed her hand and said, "Race with me, Mom! Over to that tree."

Uly pointed and Devon teased, "That far? Do you think I can make it?"

"Of course you can, it's easy for me!" boasted Uly, trying to pull Devon to her feet. Then he stopped, seeing the tiredness in her limbs. "Maybe you should rest some more. I'll go."

Devon wanted to race, more than anything, but she didn't know if she could trust her body yet. Julia had told her to take it easy over the next few days, and while Devon felt better than she had in months (and most of that could be attributed to her joy of homecoming) she realised that perhaps it was best to follow her doctor's orders. There was *no* way she would allow herself to be put into cold sleep again.

"Okay, Uly, I'll watch you," she conceded. "Bring me back a leaf!" He took off like a shot, bounding over the long grasses as if he had never been a sickly child. It was wonderful to see.

She turned her head to view the other direction, back at the camp. Friends she had there, and they were so special to her. Devon caught a glimpse of Alonzo striding purposefully across to a vehicle, and smiled. She much rathered the picture of the planetside Alonzo than the absent space pilot.

Another person caught her eye, no, a couple. She had instantly recognised John Danziger, but who was with him? Her eyes narrowed. Bess. Since when had Bess and John become so close? Resolutely, Devon pushed the thoughts out of her mind and snapped her eyes back to Uly. She would not give in to those thoughts, she would not let the darkness consume her... Devon's eyes closed as she fought against the memories, and so she did not notice Yale's approach until he was right there.

She heard the sudden rustling behind her, and whirled around. A contented expression was on Yale's face as he watched his almostdaughter spend time with her own son. "Uly is one very lucky boy," the old man commented.

Devon said nothing. She composed her features into a steely mask and looked straight past Yale. It was crazy, she knew, to put so much faith in a dream, but she couldn't help it. *Yale abandoned me* taunted the inner words. *When I needed him so much, he didn't care. He treated me like an inconvenience...*

"I'm very glad that you're here with us now," Yale said softly, moving to stand beside her. Devon instinctively took a step back. She saw the confusion on Yale's face, but did not attempt to explain. She couldn't, not when she didn't even trust him anymore.

Yale tried a different tactic, hoping for her to open up to him. "When do you think we will be able to begin moving again?"

"Soon," hedged Devon, her eyes darting from side to side as she searched for an excuse to get away. She was in no desire to think about New Pacifica. She'd *been* there already. She knew what it was like.

And it no longer mattered to Devon whether they got there or not. What mattered were her friends, and her life anywhere on G889. What mattered was being away from the stations, and being loved. New Pacifica was just a place, a small insignificant dot in Devon Adair's life. If they ever got there, well and good, but Devon suddenly realised she didn't really care about it anymore. The thought scared her. Had she truly changed so much through a dream? What she cared about now was clean, fresh air; the freedom to live each day as it came, and the love of her son.

Uly reached the tree, and yelled, "See, Mom, I made it!" "Stay there, Uly, I'm coming over," she called back. "I have to go," Devon told Yale, and turned away. She jogged to her son even though she wasn't supposed to exert herself, but being near Yale caused more conflicting emotions and mental anguish than a simple jog ever would.

When she reached the tree and Uly, Devon let out a defeated sigh, and wondered just how long it would take her to be able to trust her friends once again. She loved Yale, but now he scared her and it wasn't his fault. There was nothing at all that Devon could blame except for herself.

*

The world was dark, oh so terribly, frighteningly dark and empty and void of every true living sensation. There were...things...around her. There were sounds. There was a screaming.

"That's me screaming," she thought, but the voice was not coming from her own lips. The voice was eons away, yet the terror and pain cut straight through the woman's heart. She *knew* that voice, and she shivered. It was a scream of death. It was her own death.

"How do I know this?" she wondered. The screaming was fading and drifting away. She was dying. There was one last, desperate breath, a final act of defiance in the face of so much evil. "You can't do this to me! NO! You won't win - someday, someone, somehow, will stop you..." There was an intense pain as a red haze descended over everything, and they were falling together towards the abyss of forever darkness. Death.

Then...the presence, the other part of herself, was truly gone. So why was she here now? Was she even really here? Even alive?

There was something...in her head. Someone was doing something to her... and she heard other voices, that weren't anything like the psychic echo of herself.

"It's aware."
"I *know* that. Quick, shut it off. They can't survive long without a physical body."

"Initiate shut down."
Then *she* was gone as well.

*

Devon woke up gasping for air. She could feel the crushing blackness trying to squeeze every last breath from her body, and she violently pushed the blanket away from her body. Devon quickly got up and scrambled from the tent, willing her breathing to slow down. She had been so scared...

...and now she was confused. It was another nightmare, one of horrific proportions. That entity within the dream - it had been her, but there were two of them. It didn't make sense.

Devon stared at the moons. "What's happening to me..." she whispered desolately. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but this dream only brought back the fear of another place called hell.

She didn't know why these frightening images were surfacing now. All those months since leaving the stations, and never once had she looked back. Not even when they were most desperate for water and basic human necessities. Devon had realised they were on their own now, and the stations were gone for good.

But the experience in cold sleep had been a catalyst for the memories to resurface. Resurface? Was her nightmare based in reality? Did Devon really hold memories such as those, and were they locked deep within her mind?

"NO!" Devon shouted aloud, then glancing around quickly, hoping that she hadn't woken anyone. She was back, back from the dead, and damn it, she would live this life in happiness! She would *not* let the darkness take her friends from her again.

*

"Hey, Devon!"
She heard her name and cringed, then quickened her pace and refused to turn her head. Maybe she could pretend that she hadn't heard him, if she were fast enough she could slip around the side of the tent and vanish...

But the sudden pounding of footsteps caused her to realise that he was running to catch her. Damn. She didn't need this. She didn't want this.

Danziger easily matched her pace, saying, "Devon, I was calling you. Guess you didn't hear."

"Mmmm." She kept her eyes straight ahead and refused to look at him.

"So...how have you been?" Danziger winced at his own choice of words, but for some reason, he hadn't had the opportunity to speak with Devon even *once* since she came out of cold sleep. And he had a lot to tell her. An awful lot.

"That must've been pretty rough, everything you went through," he began. "I couldn't imagine being locked away. I hate cold sleep as it is, but to be put away and never knowing if you'll ever get out..."

*It was worse than you could ever know* Devon thought angrily. If John Danziger thought he understood her, he thought wrong. He reached out to gently touch Devon's arm, and she flinched away. "Danziger, I'm kind of busy at the moment."

He stopped, and stared at her. His blue eyes searched her face, but Devon kept her gaze low and swallowed nervously.

"Devon, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not," she lied, praying that someone, anyone would interrupt this conversation she didn't feel ready to have. Danziger caused so many conflicting emotions within her, but right now she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

Danziger sighed heavily. He had to try and reach her. "Dev, do you remember what you asked me before? To take care of Uly? To lead the group?"

She nodded. Danziger had a sudden flash that perhaps he'd failed in that respect, if he'd done something wrong then Devon could be angry with him. "I tried to watch Uly," he quickly explained, "but he took off so quickly, I'm sorry Devon..."

Yet Devon's blank expression showed him that she knew nothing of Uly's reclusive behaviour, or the fact that he'd been missing an entire day. "You did fine," she said in a flat voice. "Thank you for taking care of him." Danziger's heart lightened a little at Devon's words. It wasn't that, and it was a start. Now if he could just get through to her now, he'd have a chance.

"I thought, well, I thought we had some kind of connection there. I thought that if you survived, then maybe," this was so hard for Danziger to vocalise, "maybe we could, uh, see more of each other."

*I don't want to hear this now!* Once, her heart would have been leaping into her throat with sheer giddiness and excitement from knowing that he cared for her, as she did him. But what if he was like the Danziger of the stations? What if the moment she let herself get close to him, he walked away?

Devon didn't trust herself to get involved with any man ever again. She wanted John, she even loved him, but they couldn't be together. It would only mean more pain.

He was looking at her now, her eyes flitted up and caught the intensity of his gaze. His expression was so full of hope, and longing but in that instant, a flash of terrifying fear overcame Devon and she had to get away.

"Leave me alone!" she burst out irrationally. She couldn't help it, if she stood there one moment longer she would either scream or burst into tears, and neither option was appealing to her. She was Devon Adair, who never lost control. No matter what happened. So she ran, leaving a bewildered Danziger staring after her.

You must login (register) to review.