You guys always surprise me with your kind comments and I couldn't be more happier of the readers I have! Thank you so much for sticking with me in this journey of developing this story. There's not much left. We are almost in the finish line. The next chapter will be the last!

and some of you who wondered if im going to continue my other story ''Shadows of Ray's past'' be sure, that I defenitely will!

The light was coming towards him and Henry suddenly heard sounds again. He slowly opened his eyes. It was hard. But he managed it. First he realised he's in bed. Then his look caught another person close. It was Ray sleeping in a horribly uncomfortable position on the chair, right next to his bed. Ray looked exhausted, Henry has never seen him like that. What's happening? And by that moment all of his memory suddenly came back: the cold cage, hunger, The core, the gas, the last image of Ray dying along with him.

Henry immediatelly jumped and heard himself screaming. That woke Ray up, he jumped out of his chair. Captain Man's eyes widened when he saw Henry awake.

"Henry!" He sighted with joy and relieve and the boy soon found himself in Ray's arms, tightly pressing Henry to his chest in a hug.

"Ray! The gass...the hall..we were...The core! I...what..." He was shaking his head and looking all around.

"Hey, hey, easy. It's alright, everything is alright. You are safe now" Ray leaned back and put his both hands on Henry's shoulders, trying to catch his look "calm down, everything's okay" he said softly. Then gently pushed the boy's shoulders back, that he would lie down again "you need to rest now".

And he was right: Henry immediatelly felt the consequences of his fast movements: his head got dizzy and heavy, so as his eye lashes. Before he could put his thoughts in order again his eyes closed and he found hinself falling to darkness again.

After what felt like ages, Henry started hearing sounds again. They seemed so far away and so quiet.

"...are you sure he woke up?" The voice sounded like Charlotte's "Ray, you haven't got a proper sleep for almost a week..." "...your mind could have just be messing around with you..." "...you need to rest" Charlotte's voice was dissapearing and appearing all over again. The voice seemed closer now, but still too far.

"...no! Im sure!" This time it was his dear best friend, mentor and the closest person he had - Ray's voice. "...I even talked to him! He WILL wake up" "...he will..."

"Ray..." the accent gave away the owner of this voice - Schwoz. "We all want Henry to wake up..." "...but it's been a week already...".

"You need to rest..." Charlotte's voice appeared again.

"...do not ask me to do that" Ray's voice immediatelly cut down Charlotte's. "you know that I won't leave this room".

And then the voices started to fade away again completely in this darkness he was in. Henry with horror tried to reach them again somehow, but all he could feel was falling back, away from the light,to oblivion again.

The next time Henry felt his mind again, the bright light was coming fast towards him. He reached it. And then his eyes opened. For a moment he couldn't see anything. Just hear. The sounds were so loud now compared to what he was hearing before.

"Look, he woke up!"

"HENRY!"

"Say something"

"Can you hear us?"

The view was slowly appearing. He could see blurred faces. His eyes seemed so heavy. Henry blinked few times and then he finally seemed to recognise people and what's happening again. The memory came back. His thoughts were racing like crazy in his head. So much was happening.

He finally woke up.