Chapter 11

Loren Bray had been a heartbroken, lonely man. His last months he had lived his life in complete isolation in Manitou Springs. He had left everything behind when his beloved daughter Abigail had been taken away from him. His friends had tried to help him in every possible way but soon had to realize that nothing could be done to help this old man back on his feet. He was simply a prisoner of the past who didn't want to let go.

He had tried to escape the hurt, the pain, the loneliness of losing his only daughter. Everything had reminded him of her.

Abigail still had worked by her fathers side in the mercantile even though she had been married to his son-in-law, Byron Sully. Every morning he would come down the stairs from his bedroom, he still smelled her scent in every corner of the room, he had found pieces that had belonged to her. A shawl, her beautiful green hat she wore the last time on his birthday, her favorite perfume had been left on the shelf. He had scrubbed hours to finally get rid of the last blood stains on the floor next to the entrance. His hands had burned from scratches and were drained in his own daughters blood when he finally had managed to get most of it off. At this point, Loren Bray had nothing to live for anymore and thus made the decision to leave town, the only place he ever had called home and moved to Manitou Springs. But he soon had to realize that nothing he would ever do or how far away he would be from Colorado Springs, he couldn't forget. With no friends at all, he had never felt as lonely as he had for the last months.

With these thoughts in mind, Loren Bray wanted to make peace with himself and had left the place where he never had felt home for one single moment.

He never expected that the past would catch up with him that soon when he discovered the man lying in front of him had been Byron Sully.

Sully hadn't moved a single muscle once Loren had turned his body around. His breathing had slowed, his body sweating and shaking. Loren was still clueless of what had happened to him and couldn't find any injuries or any kind that would indicate his now almost deadly appearance. He didn't know how long Sully would have the willpower to survive and his first thoughts had been to bring him in to town but soon had to accept that his own body was not capable of moving Sully for only an inch. The only chance Sully would have to survive was to bring someone to him as fast and soon as possible.

Loren had left Sully with an uneasy feeling behind that something was completely out of balance in his sill son-in-laws life. He had brought a blanket to cover his still shaking body even though Sully's body felt like being on fire. Then he had walked as fast as his old legs would allow him back to his buckboard to hopefully find someone who would be able to help Sully.

He hadn't been on the road for more than ten minutes when the Indian reservation came in to view. Loren had hated them "savages" from the beginning and especially that friend of Sully's, that Indian. That had been one of the reasons why Loren had never really approved the marriage with Abigail and Sully. But he quickly pushed these thoughts far away because that Indian might be the only one who could help Sully coming back to life now.

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It was about half an hour later when Sully, clad only in his buckskin, was settled beneath some buffalo fur in Cloud Dancing's tipi.

Snow Bird tried as best as she could to cool down his heated skin with cold water and sponging his chest. Sully's body was burning from fever but had stopped shaking as soon as Loren and Cloud Dancing had brought him to the reservation.

As Snow Bird was tending to Sully, Cloud Dancing was next to him on the other side, praying to the spirits to help his friend anew and to seek answers the spirits wouldn't allow Sully to know.

Once he was finished, Snow Bird was the first one to speak.

"What is wrong with him? He seemed in good spirits when he came to see you the last time."

"The spirits have spoken. It is not an injury that tries to kill him. His will to live is gone."

"I do not understand. He had found new love. His heart was filled with happiness again."

Placing his hand over Sully's heart, Cloud Dancing spoke again.

"Something must have happened that Sully was pulled back to the dark place he had just escaped from. But this is worse than anything we have seen from Sully. His spirits are gone. He doesn't want to fight."

"What can we do?" asked Snow Bird, watching a lifeless Sully in front of her.

"We can do nothing. If he wants to live he will make it."

"What if he can't?"

With saddened eyes, Cloud Dancing looked back over to his wife. "Then there is no hope."

Cloud Dancing rose from his position and put his hand on Snow Bird's shoulder. He didn't need to say a word. Snow Bird understood from his gesture that he was lost at words why this had happened to Sully again.

Leaving his friend and his wife alone, he opened the flap and met Loren outside the tent, who was still waiting for an explanation of what was wrong with Sully. But from the look on the Indians face he knew that Sully was in great danger.

Cloud Dancing studied the old man in front of him. He knew from Sully's stories about Abigail's father and had been surprised when he came to the reservation for help.

"So, what's wrong with Sully?" Loren asked roughly.

"I do not know what is wrong with my brother yet. Right now I cannot do anything for him."

"That's why we brought him over here? Why can't you help him?"

"Sully is lost my friend. It is up to him if he wants to live."

"I am not your friend. You…what was that Indian name of yours? Something as Dancing in the Cloud or Dancing Clouds? Anyway, you just want to let Sully die now in this, this wilderness out here?"

Smiling, Cloud Dancing replied, "You have a good memory my friend. I am Cloud Dancing." Then his face grew seriously again. "Darkness surrounds Sully. He can not see. The only thing we can do now is wait if he wants to fight. When he does, I will be here for him."

"Nonsense. He needs medicine or something. I am taking him to town. There will be somebody who can help him." Loren felt more and more frustrated about that Indian. He didn't understand a word he was saying and actually he didn't want to. He just wanted to take Sully away from the Reservation.

"You can not do that Loren Bray. If we move him he will die. This is his home. He knows he is safe even though you don't want to understand. Sully stays. You can come to see him when the sun rises again."

"But…," but Cloud Dancing had already turned around and walked back inside his tipi. Loren Bray was dumbfounded. How could that Indian just decide what was best for Sully? How on earth will Sully come back to life with that savage around him? Growling, he left Sully and decided to finally go to town. He would find someone to get Sully away from here.

Just know it dawned him that he cared for Sully. Why did he care what happened to Sully in the first place? It never bothered him before. Why now? "I am getting old and soft." he thought to himself.

Back at his buckboard, Loren glanced back to the tipi Sully was lying in and hoped that Sully would survive until he would get him out of there.

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Cloud Dancing was back at Sully's side while in the meantime Snow Bird had continued to get his temperature down.

"He is still burning, Cloud Dancing. I do not know if he is able to fight in this state."

"Go and get willow bark tee. Again, I will ask the spirits and will pray for my brother. Go!"

Snow Bird left and Cloud Dancing began to prepare himself to seek wisdom of how Sully could be helped. He took his Indian shirt off, sat down crossed legs next to Sully and placed his hand over his friends heart again.

"Great spirits, make my brother strong again to fight against the disease that keeps him trapped. Return his dreams from his heart. His eyes no longer see the beauty, they only see shadows and darkness. His ears only hear the silence that surround him. Give him your strengths to fight for his life. My heart as well is heavy from sadness because I do not understand my brothers journey. Help me to guide him in his darkest time. Hear my voice Great Spirits, creator of everything that surrounds me!"

Then Cloud Dancing began his journey, chanted and prayed long into the night, never leaving Sully's side.

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"Michaelaaaaa!"

It was the middle of the night when suddenly Michaela was aware that she was awake, but she couldn't move or make a sound. And then she felt a weight begin to press down on her chest and felt she couldn't breathe. Her body was shaking from the intense voice in her head.

"Shh Mike. Everything is alright. Try to breathe slowly in and out." Joseph had stayed with his daughter after William had left a few hours ago and wanted to treasure the moments alone with her before everyone would fuss over his little girl. He had fallen asleep not long ago on the chair next to her while holding her hand. Then he had felt her hand getting cold and shaking.

"Is it better now, Mike?" He saw her calming down and loosened her grip at his hand. But she looked disorientated.

"Are you alright? Are you in pain?" he felt her forehead and noticed how hot she was. "I believe you have a fever, Mike."

Slowly Michaela could focus again. She moved her legs up against her chest and folded her arms around them. "I just heard a voice father. Someone called my name. He was screaming and…and I could feel it. My chest felt like…."

"It was just a dream. You should go back to sleep, darlin'. It's still in the middle of the night. So you still have a few hours before everyone wants to see you and fuss over you. Especially your mother." Joseph smiled, knowing how Elizabeth would chase every nurse and doctor around the hospital to get Michaela everything she needed.

Michaela returned his smile. "I think you are right, about mother I mean."

"We know her too well, don't we Mike?" chuckled Joseph. "Come, close your eyes. You need all the sleep you can get. I will stay here."

"Thank you father." Joseph gave her a last kiss on her forehead and settled back down in the big wooden chair and watched his daughter as she closed her eyes, hoping she would go back to sleep.

But sleep wouldn't come easily now. The voice, full of anger, frustration but most of all hurt echoed in her mind again. Strangely, Michaela had felt an uneasy feeling in her chest that left her gasping for air. She had felt the intense pain in his words, the desperation to find an answer as if his life would depend on it.

Michaela turned slowly from one side to the other as not to waken her father, and wrapped the covers more tightly around her.

But her head began to hurt again. A throbbing, pulsating feeling on both sides of her head made it difficult for Michaela to fall back to sleep. Wincing slightly she turned on to her back again. Looking at the ceiling, she tried to concentrate, rubbing her temples softly to ease the pain. Once it passed again, she looked back over to the window and could still see the moon shining, giving the only light in the dark room.

Suddenly, she rose as quietly as she could from the bed and moved to the window. She didn't know why she did this but it felt actually good to watch the stars again. She had done it often when she was a child, sometimes with her father and they would talk about the dreams they had or what they wished for.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Joseph's voice.

"Mike? What are you doing up?" Joseph whispered rubbing his eyes while he rose from the chair and walked over to Michaela, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Immediately Michaela leaned in to him, feeling the raising and falling of his chest.

She let out a content sigh. "Just like how we used to do it when I was a small child. Your arms always protected me and still do."

Joseph squeezed her shoulder gently. "I'll always be there for you Mike. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to you more seriously. I am so glad that you are alright." Joseph placed a soft kiss on her temple. "What are you thinking about that keeps you awake?"

Placing her hand on the cold window, she suddenly felt an electricity shot through her fingers, her hand, over to her arm, her chest and right into her heart. Her pulse started to quicken, pumping an incredible warm feeling into every part of her body. She closed her eyes, trying to control the trembling and the weakness she suddenly felt in her knees.

Joseph noticed. "Mike, what's wrong? You are burning up again! And you are shaking! Let me take a look at you again."

Michaela still had her eyes closed, breathing in deeply and letting our another sigh. With one hand still at the window, she reached for her fathers with her other. She didn't know what happened but it frightened her. She had never felt anything like this before. And then she listened to the voice again, just a whisper as it would be million of miles away. "Michaela, help me." The feeling was overpowering and her knees got weak again but Joseph was there to catch her.

"Mike, let's get you back to bed. You are still in no shape of getting out of bed that soon. Come." Michaela didn't react and let her father take her back to bed.

Settled beneath the blankets again, Michaela looked up to her fathers face again who sat down on the bed next to her, still holding her hand in his.

"Father, what's wrong with me?"

"What do you mean, Mike? You know that it will still take time to get back on your feet. You were unconscious for almost three weeks. You should know, Dr. Quinn, that you are still weak and need a lot of bed rest for the next days."

"I know that I was unconscious but what I just felt had nothing to do with my condition. It was something else. A powerful feeling I never had before. Just like when I woke the other time."

Joseph hated it to see his daughter in a such miserable way. With smoothing words he tried to comfort her. "You are exhausted. You need time and sleep. It will…"

"No, it was something else. I know it," Michaela snapped back.

"Mike, please calm down. That is not good for you."

As if she didn't hear her fathers pleading words, she continued, "I heard the voice again. This time I barely could understand what he was saying. It was so full of pain. "Michaela, help me." I know it sounds crazy but I am not lying father."

"Maybe it was something you dreamed about but you can't remember it?"

"Yes, maybe."

Joseph rose from the bed and made himself comfortable in his chair again while Michaela closed her eyes, trying to forget what she just had experienced. "It was just a dream," Michaela thought to herself. She didn't know anyone with such voice and she was actually too tired to even think about it any further. She just wanted to sleep.

Not knowing yet, Michaela had rekindled a fire deep within her heart that came back to life in that instant she had placed her hand on that window that night. Unknown to her, it would start a powerful connection again that would go beyond her imagination.

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William had gone back home after he was certain Michaela was sleeping soundly. In some ways he had felt bad of leaving her side but decided he needed a good night sleep after almost three weeks of being at the hospital with no proper rest.

He was sitting on the edge of his bed and only the lamp on his nightstand gave enough light to read the words again and again on the piece of paper he was holding in his hand. He had used several attempts until he was satisfied of having the right words written down at the end. He memorized every single word to not do any mistakes when he would see Michaela in the morning again. No, if he wanted his plans to work, he needed Michaela on his side in every possible way and away from her father.

Folding the paper half way, he put it down next to the other one, turned down the lamp and climbed under the covers.

Satisfied that everything was ready for tomorrow he had no difficulties in falling into a blissful sleep.