Another Life
Here's the next chapter. Sorry it took a little longer than expected. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as the earlier chapters. I hope to get Ch.4 up by the end of this week. So R&R and enjoy!
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Radesh – 1week later
Sam couldn't concentrate at work all that week. She was worried about Jack. What had happened that day at the doctors? The day after Jack's doctor visit, Sam had again tried to remind him about the dreams, but he couldn't remember and became agitated the more she persisted.
She groaned in frustration. She couldn't just sit there, she had to something, talk to someone.
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knock knock
"Come in," Daniel said, head buried in a very large, dusty book.
"Are you busy?" came a soft voice.
Daniel looked up and saw Sam standing there in the doorway. She looked tired, and the taut lines on her face told him that she was very stressed and upset about something. He immediately put his book down and went over to her. "Sam what's wrong? Is everything okay?"
Sam shook her head. "I'm worried about Jack, Daniel."
Daniel put his hand on her arm and guided her over to one of his chairs, and sat down across from her. "What happened?"
Sam took a deep breath and retold the events of that week. "Remember at dinner, a few weeks ago, we were talking about those dreams?" Daniel nodded. "And Jack said he'd mention it at his physical that week?" Again Daniel nodded. "Well when I asked him about it he denied ever having the dreams, but that the doctor had given him something for his headaches. When I asked him about the headaches, he said the ones he went to see the doctor about, the ones that had been bothering him for weeks. When I told him that he never mentioned the headaches to me he just shrugged it off."
Daniel took of his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. "He has no memory of the dreams at all?"
""No. But when I tried to talk to him about the again a couple days later, he still couldn't remember them."
"Hmmm. You said that he told you the doctor gave him something?"
"Yes. Jack said that the doctor gave him a shot to help get rid of his headaches. You… you think the doctor did this?"
Daniel sighed. "I don't know Sam. But Jack was normal before he went for his physical." Sam sat back in the chair, letting it all sink in. "You have full security clearance right?"
Sam's eyes lit up as she understood what Daniel was hinting at. "Right," she said, wheeling her chair over to Daniel's computer. Typing in her ID, and security information it was only minutes until she was into the medical files database. Pulling up Jack's medical file she scanned he page for recent updates.
"What is it?" asked Daniel, seeing Sam's confused expression.
"They did a brain scan."
"Last week?"
"Yes." Sam typed in a few commands and brought up multiple images of Jack's brain.
Daniel stared at the screen. "How many scans did they do?"
"Just a couple. But some of these are old." Sam brought the images up full screen and gasped. "Oh my god."
Daniel peered over her shoulder at the two images. "What is that?" He asked pointing to a small mass in Jack's brain.
"I don't know. But it wasn't there two years ago," she said pointing to the other image.
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Sam had been up all night staring at the cranial images and by the next day she had pretty good idea of what the foreign mass was in Jack's brain. Bursting into Daniel's office she fanned the images out on his desk. "I've done it. I think I know what the mass is."
"What?"
"A wall."
"A wall? In his brain?"
"Bare with me. What if it's some sort of device? Meant to block something…..like memories."
Daniel looked at her. "You think these dreams we're having are memories?"
"Yes." Sam pointed to the original brain scan. "This part here is the part of the brain responsible for storing information….memories. See in this image everything is normal. But in this one," she said putting the more recent image on top, "this mass is blocking off that part of the brain…like a wall."
Daniel started to say something but was cut off by Sam. "Plus, I printed these off last night," she said handing him a folder.
Daniel opened the folder and pulled out more brain scans. He looked them over noticing how identical they were to Jack's. "Are these….ours?"
"Yes. I think, for some reason, some of our memories have been blocked off."
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Radesh – a week later
Daniel and Sam were walking down the hallways of the Academic Institution discussing the brain scans, when they heard raised voices around the corner. "What? –"
"Shhh" Sam cut him off pulling him back against the wall.
"Who is it?" whispered Daniel.
Sam poked her head around the corner and saw the governor of Radesh and a stout bald man arguing outside of the gateroom. Moving back against the wall, she looked at Daniel. "It's the governor and some other man. I think I know him, but I can't be sure."
Daniel glanced quickly around the corner. "I recognize him to. But I can't remember from where."
Sam again motioned for him to be quiet as the voices down the hall grew louder. "I cannot keep interrupting the daily lives of my people to search for them! I'm sorry General but I Radesh will no longer participate in your ...quest, and I must insist that you no come here. The people of Radesh have been quite cooperative with your search parties and your questioning but it cannot persists. I assure you General that should in the future any evidence or news of your three team members is found we will send word to you through the gate."
The bald man was flushed with anger but held his tongue. "Thank you for your cooperation Governor. As soon as our last search party returns to the city we will cease communications."
The governor nodded and lead the man into the gateroom.
Sam looked back at him. "Daniel what are we going to do?"
Daniel shook his head. "I don't know Sam…..I don't know."
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That night Sam and Jack were walking down by the beach, holding hands and watching the sun set below the horizon. "Jack how long have we known each other?"
Jack looked at her and said, "almost two years." He wrapped an arm around her slender waist, "but it feels like much longer."
Sam was silent for a few minutes as they walked along. "How long have you worked at the military base?"
"After I retired from the military? … Fifteen years this year."
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
Jack squeezed her hand. "How could I forget that day? You had come to the base to test out some fancy new weapon that you had developed. The chief of the base introduced us and I was to give you the grand tour of the base. I couldn't believe how beautiful you were." Sam blushed. "You asked so many questions, curious about everything!" Jack leant over and kissed the top of her head. "And I've loved you ever since."
Not wanting to ruin the moment, Sam remained quiet, but it wasn't long before her conscience was nagging at her again. "Jack do you remember anything before two years ago?"
Jack laughed. "Why all the questions?"
"Please Jack.."
"Alright, yes."
"Like…"
"Ummm...I spent twenty years in the Radesh military, eventually commanding my own troupe. I got some sort of award and retired. Then, fifteen years ago I was asked to come back to the military to train future troupes. I grew up somewhere on the outskirts of the city. I-"
"Anything specific? Like names or dates?"
Jack paused to think about it, but when he tried to remember, his mind went fuzzy. Sighing he turned and started to lead her back to his house. "It's been a long day Sam, and I'm really tired. Can we play this little trivia game another time?"
Trying to hide the disappointment in her voice, Sam looped her arms around Jack's arm and followed. "Sure Jack….another time."
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Radesh – a few days later
This time it was Daniels turn to burst into Sam's office with surprising news. "Sam I know where he's from!"
Sam looked up from her computer. "What?"
"Remember the bald man that we saw in the hallway? He's the man from our dreams! The one commanding the operations."
Sam brought her hand up to her forehead. "Oh my god Daniel you're right! It's him!"
"Sam what if it's us?" Sam looked at him confused. "What if we're the missing members of his team? You, me and Jack."
"Daniel…"
"No listen, it all fits! This….man is missing a team…..a team with three members. Then there's our brain scans. They show that some of our memories are being blocked… And our dreams! Sam how else do you explain knowing this guy without ever seeing him before? And you said so yourself that there was a good chance that these dreams are fragments of buried memories."
"Your right Daniel."
"What do you think we should do?"
"First things first, we tell Jack."
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That night, Sam went over to Jack's house to try and explain to him what they had found. Walking up his front porch steps, folder in her hand, Sam took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Sam!" said Jack, smiling broadly as he answered the door. "I wasn't expecting you around this evening."
"Jack we need to talk."
"Why is it that those words scare me?" He said as he shut the door behind her. "You haven't changed your mind have you?"
Sam looked down at the ring on her finger and blushed slightly. "No Jack, not at all."
Jack let out a sigh of relief. "Good. So what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
"The dreams."
"What?"
"Jack I've got proof! The governments trying to cover something up …."
Jack put up his hand. "Sam I don't want to hear about it."
"But Jack –"
"No Sam," said Jack walking away from her into the kitchen.
Sam followed him. "Jack…."
"Sam….no!"
"But Jack there's evidence –"
"DAMMIT CARTER!!"
The anger and harshness of his words cut her like a knife, causing her to take a step back in shock.
Feeling instantly guilty about his outburst, Jack sighed. "Sam I'm sorry. I –"
"What did you call me?" she whispered, hot tears in her eyes, from his rebuke.
Jack shook his head. "I don't know…it just…..slipped out. Sam….I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry." Jack looked at her and could see the hurt and pain in her eyes, and the tears threatening to spill over. He extended his arms, holding them out to her. "Come here," he said softly.
Sam slowly walked into his embrace and let out her tears of frustration. "I love you Sam," he mumbled into her hair. "More than life itself."
"I love you too Jack," she whispered into his shirt. After a few silent moments, Sam pulled back and looked up into Jack's deep brown eyes. "Please Jack. Just listen to what I have to say….trust me."
Jack sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'm listening."
Sam walked over to the kitchen table and signaled Jack to follow. Taking out the scans, she spread them over the countertop. "These our brain scans of you, me and Daniel. These ones over here were taking a few years ago, and these ones more recently."
Jack nodded.
Sam explained what she had to Daniel a few weeks ago when they first discovered the scans. "These original scans are normal. Everything is fine…as it should be. But these more recent ones," she said pointing at the other three, "show something seriously wrong."
"Wrong?"
"These dark areas here, are masses….a type of organic device. The masses are blocking off this part of the brain that is responsible for memory."
"So…."
"Jack this mass, whatever it is, is blocking our memories. That's why we can't remember anything specific past the last two years."
"What does this have to do with the dreams that you….that we've been having?"
"I think that these dreams are fragments of old memories trying to resurface. For some reason, and only recently, a few of these memories have managed to resurface….as dreams. I think the device is starting to decay slightly. Maybe it wasn't meant to be permanent. Anyways, that's why when you talked to the doctor about your dreams he gave you something. I'm assuming it was some type of sedative designed to knock you out while the fixed the device."
"Your saying that my doctor put this…this thing in my head?"
"I think it's bigger than that. I think that the government has something to do with it. For some reason, there's something that they don't want us to know about…to remember."
Jack stared long and hard at the images on the table. "I believe you," he said finally.
"You do?" Sam said, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
He put an arm around her waist. "Yes I do."
Sam rested her head on his shoulder. "What are going to do Jack?"
"I don't know Sam," he said pulling her closer. "But I'm sure you'll think of something."
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