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Chapter 10

Scott and Pandora rode to a riverside by the time the sun was low. The river, like the tree, was oddly found in the middle of nowhere again.

"So much for your imagination, everything just pops up so naturally." Scott scoffed and Pandora, which earned him a punch on his shoulder for his effort.

They refreshed themselves with the river water and lay down on their backs, cushioning they're head with their hands. Heard the gushing river, saw the setting sun, felt the warm grass. There were no words to describe how Scott was feeling.

"Thank you, I mean it. All this you have done for me… How everything was before…" Scott winced again as his memories flooded back.

Pandora knew what she did today was only temporary. Scott was damaged permanently, an ugly scar that can never heal. Wings of a bird chipped off, it would never fly again. His past was smothering dark, it would never be illuminated again. Only feeble glimmer perhaps.

"What do you want Scott…?"

"You can't give me what I want. I wanted an end to the pain, but it wouldn't end. It would never end. Physically there would be scars. But years later, decades later, I would still be haunted. Hatred would swallow me up and eat me alive. The pain would never leave me. I…"

Scott gave an agonizing moan.

"What did I even do? All my bloody life, all my bloody life! There used to be something I would live for. But now, even Jamie…? Pandora, I am immensely grateful to you. But I don't understand. Why are you helping me when nobody did before? And even now, I'm finding it hard to believe all this. All these things, it's too good. Pandora, if there is something I learnt in my entire screwed up life, it is nothing good happens to me."

Scott closed his eyes and sighed and Pandora stared into the starry sky, both were silent for five minutes, deep in their own bitter thoughts. Finally, Pandora broke the silence.

"Let's go, it's late and I'm exhausted."

They rode back to the little house, with Scott musing over how Pandora managed to know the route. He took a shower while Pandora "made dinner", which was actually just sandwiches and hotdogs as Pandora complained she was too tired.

While Pandora took her turn in the bathroom, Scott stood awkwardly at the room. Wasn't the bed Pandora's? He had already occupied the bed for so many days, it would be rude for him to sleep on it although he was feeling perfectly fine.

Scott touched the wound, ugly scabs and swollen flesh, at least it didn't hurt that much anymore. The sofa seemed like the right place for him but he dreaded it. Pandora's habit of bursting into rooms without warning greeted him again. Her hair was wet and messy and she seemed rather surprise to see Scott standing in her bedroom.

"Scott, are you feeling much better now? I don't want to sleep at the sofa again…"

"No, no! It's all right, I could go there tonight. Actually, aren't there another two rooms outside? Is it okay for me to… occupy it?"

A weird expression passed over Pandora's face and she looked at Scott bewilderedly.

"Rooms? What two rooms…? Oh that! No…" Pandora's eyes glazed, "Scott I think you had better sleep on the bed tonight. I don't mind. Just one last night though mind you, I'll get myself a sleeping bag for tonight. Don't bother protesting. The floor's quite horrible for your wound on the chest, you might flip over or something… I'll sleep in the other room."

Scott nodded hesitantly, he was strangely disturbed with the look on Pandora's face when he mentioned about the two rooms. A weird expression had passed her face and had still left slight traces there. It somehow made him uncomfortable, something that could not be put to words.

Pandora gave a goodnight-smile and left the room, busily drying her hair with a towel. Scott, with uneasiness churning in his stomach, slept within one minute due to fatigue. However, the sleep felt restless and dreary, almost druggy.

Scott remembered sub-consciously of himself waking up frequently. There was something that must have disturbed him. Tossing and turning restlessly, Scott suddenly felt very much awake. He was urging the torturous night to pass quickly, every second ticked away agonizingly slow.

Sudden movement. A crash. And then a scream.

Scott jolted up from his bed, heart thudding. Was it just his imagination? After all, he was drowsy. Uneasiness snaked into the eerie darkness. Scott heard it again. It was something like a yelp and moan at the same time. He stood up and hesitantly approached the door. Could it be Pandora? Idiot, who else could it be?

Biting his tongue, he stumbled into Pandora's room hastily. The room was dark and he was too unfamiliar to know where the switch to turn the light is. Squinting into the darkness, he vaguely saw a twisted silhouette thrashing all over the floor, whimpering.

Scott scurried forward, brows knitted tightly. Pandora was crying, but when Scott asked her what happened, she screamed and tucked her chin into her knees, wet trails of tears staining her cheeks. He awkwardly placed his hand onto her shoulders; a weak attempt to calm her down. Resulting in her flinching and yelling hoarsely.

"NO! STOP!"

Her eyes were tightly screwed together and her body tensed whenever Scott approached her. She was having a nightmare. The way she struggled, tears streaming down her glistening cheeks furiously, screaming things to stop. Scott clenched his jaws curled his fingers into a fist. The sight was too much, he had once felt the same way, once did the same thing.

Memories engulfed him momentarily, blinding him with rage. Scott had been trying so hard to forget them, at least ignore them. The memories entered his head carefully, as though unfamiliar in his brain. Another heart-wrenching scream jolted Scott back from his pain briefly. He shook his head violently, so much suffering was bad enough for him, and he did not want to see Pandora in the same fate too. Pandora and Scott, both on the verge of losing their mind. Scott swallowed down his nausea and focused everything on Pandora. Her conditions were gradually getting worst, it was no ordinary nightmares. The sight of her twitched frame was unbearable; Scott would have given everything to stop it.

"Pandora! Hey, wake up Pandora!" Scott was surprised at how steady he sounded; he was far from feeling so. He firmly shook her awake, ignoring her violent struggling attempts to break free from his grasp, whimpering like an injured puppy. Scott hesitated for a moment, was he hurting her? Scott's head was suddenly abused with a racking headache.

He had not yet realised that Pandora was already awake, but the nightmare had not left her at all. It was only when Pandora grasped his wrist tightly and sobbed his name softly did Scott noticed her pleading eyes staring at him. And in that second when they shared eye contact, Scott's world flipped around. He did not just see her terrified eyes, he had seen what the terrified eyes seen. The terror itself. His power had slipped and suddenly Scott's mind was snatched away by everything he saw. It was one thing remembering memories, another actually witnessing all the torture again. Scott drew in a long breath but nothing entered his lungs. The dark room with the instruments of death, the electricity that sent him screaming his throat out, begging to die. The actual pain.

Something hard knocked onto his chest and he nearly collapsed onto his back. Scott's mind still stung but he was force back again to the room. Panting heavily, he found Pandora sobbing into his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around him for comfort. Scott flinched instantly for many reasons. The main was that such close distance made him lose control of his power, not to mention her thoughts were literally screaming into his ears. His vision blurred and tears started down. Pandora had no idea how much she was hurting him. With her nightmare fresh in her mind, with her mind screaming for help, Scott felt everything, and more. These nightmares had once haunted Scott, and now it was back to rip him apart to pieces again.

Scott could no longer take in anymore, he howled and literally pulled himself away from Pandora. He buried his face into his hands, weeping uncontrollably. Pandora was mixed with confusion and hurt all at different degrees. Again, this made Scott's mind whirl like a raging tornado.

"STOP! JUST BLOODY STOP IT ALREADY!"

Scott bellowed at Pandora without helping. He could not think straight, with so much wild emotions, both Pandora's and his, attacking and overflowing his brain massively. His powers lost control again. This time it attacked Pandora. Scott must have "mind-talked" to Pandora without meaning to, as she heard everything that went into Scott's head. Pandora had entered into his mind now and suddenly she was paralyzed. Everything Scott felt burst into her and she finally could understand. Stunned, she saw why Scott was in so much more pain from her nightmare than she was in. She saw how she had been having nightmares while Scott was actually present in the torture itself. She saw how he was broken to nothing.

However, the power's momentary outburst was about to fade away from Pandora. She quickly grasped the last strand before it disappeared and use it against Scott.

Pandora was not really sure what exactly she was doing but Scott's mind cleared a little, she could feel it. As though she was drawing out the pain from his head, clearing away the memories, not stealing them forever, just storing them away. Scott had screamed at her to stop thinking about the nightmare and that was a command of some sort, Pandora's mind had also lifted from the troubles of the nightmare. But both of them did not lose the pain forever, it was still there, and it will always be there.

Pandora never felt such power in herself before, but it was already gone. Both Pandora and Scott were shaken and traumatized, but everything was under control now. Everything except for their tears streaming wildly down their cheeks. The next thing they knew, both of them were in each other arms. Scott buried his face into her hair and sobbed uncontrollably, Pandora was shaking and whimpering while Scott cradled her. Both were seeking comfort in each other's presence, the pain they shared had strung them together into a bond that could never be broken.