Chapter 14:

Every inch of her body felt like lead, each strained movement sapping away at what little energy Zarabeth had as she struggled in the pitch darkness surrounding her. There was no floor beneath her feet, no end to the dark above or beside her, yet an invisible current pulled her in a direction she did not wish to be taken, a direction she somehow knew led to the edge of the unseen floor, intending to push her over its edge. Zara knew the end of the current was coming, her mind overwhelmed with the one thing she understood. She couldn't fight it. She was going to die. The girl's desperate cries and pleas for help reverberated into the distance with no proof that anyone could hear her.

Though the darkness was unchanged, Zarabeth knew that she was about to fall, releasing a final scream as her feet gave way beneath her, the feeling of falling only flooding through her for a moment.

A strong hand was latched about her wrist, a voice calling out to her from behind the edge as she was slowly pulled back toward safety. "Hold on, Zara!"

"Jim!" Relief flowed through the girl's mind as she was pulled high enough to see his face, one arm supported beneath her to try to help Jim get her back up.

Another sound was distinguishable in the dark, the sound of light footsteps as they quickly drew near, the sounds hardly loud enough to hear between Jim's strained breaths as he pulled Zarabeth closer to safety. Suddenly realizing what was about to happen, she tried to alert the boy, unable to make a sound before Jim's expression changed.

The boy let out a cry as agonizing pain ripped through him, his body crumpling motionless to the invisible ground as he released his hold on Zara.

"No!" The girl's voice came flooding back as it filled the darkness around them, her grip slipping on the invisible ground beneath her as she desperately tried to get back up, to get to Jim's side.

Another hand took hold of Zarabeth's arm, the claws of the feline hand still dripping with Jim's blood as the man roughly pulled the girl away from the edge, tossing her toward the boy's lifeless body. "You think you can hide from me?! You think he can save you?! Well he can't! Look at him! This is what happens when you try to run from me!"

Hot tears blinding her, Zara desperately called the boy's name over and over, trying to wake him, trying to tear death's hold away from him as she held Jim's motionless body in her arms. "No. Come back to me. Jim, please. Jim."

"He's spent his time saving you over and over and over again. How do you repay him? What have you done? Nothing! You can't do anything! You're worthless! You killed him!"

Zarabeth threw her hands over her ears, the sound of the feline's voice ringing inside her head as she buried her face against Jim, trying desperately to block out his words.

"Worthless! Useless! Pathetic! Weak!"

"Stop it! Stop!" She couldn't take it anymore, his voice grinding in her head, his words cutting through her.

"Zara!"

"Stop!" Zarabeth let out another scream as she felt herself being grabbed by her shoulders, her eyes firmly shut as her master's voice melted away into that of someone else. "No!"

"Zara, wake up!"

The girl resisted, her wrists caught by strong hands as they were pulled away from her face. Her eyes instinctively opened, her vision blurred by her tears as she suddenly realized where she was. Jim sat before her, her hands in his as he tried to get her attention.

"Zarabeth, look at me. Look at me."

Her mind reeling in confusing emotions, the girl released a quivering breath as she instantly fell into the boy's embrace, letting her tears fall freely as she felt his arms surround her. She was awake.

Jim closed his eyes, burying his face in Zarabeth's hair as he held her close, doing his best to calm her as his heart filled with pain for the trembling girl in his arms. "It's ok. No one's gonna hurt you. You're safe now."

Zara's quiet sobs filled the dim room as she tried to convince herself that he was real, that she was awake. Jim's heart was beating beside her as she sat cradled to his chest, his touch warm as he gently ran his hand over her back. He was real.

The memories from her dreams, Jim's lifeless body in her arms, her master yelling over her, the feeling of his bloodied hand as it grabbed her, they all flashed in Zarabeth's mind as she spoke unconsciously, her voice trembling in a whisper. "Don't leave me."

"Hey, I'm right here. See?" Jim carefully pulled away, holding Zara at arm's length as he pushed her wavy hair away from her tear-stained cheeks. "I'm not going anywhere."

Zarabeth closed her eyes as she felt Jim's hand tenderly dry her eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure.

Adrenaline gone, the pounding in Zarabeth's head slowly grew, her heart no longer racing, but still pulsing harder than she had remembered it to be before. The cold sweat she'd thought was only from her nightmarish sleep persisted as her body continued to quiver, though no longer because of anxiety or adrenaline. She'd almost forgotten the fever, but now it was impossible to.

Her tears no longer falling, her breathing as even and steady as it could be, Zara glanced about the dark room, a single lamp lit on the nightstand as it sent odd shadows across the walls, realizing how late it must be. "Thank you, Jim. I-I'm alright now."

"You sure? Here, you're shivering." Jim moved to sit behind Zara, his back to the headboard as he had the girl lie beside him, her head resting in his lap as he pulled the covers securely around her, doing things he'd remember his mother would do for him when he was younger.

Jim's every touch was a comfort to the girl, her mind still reeling in a resurgence of emotions and feelings as she tried to sort them out. It was just a dream, just a dream. It wasn't real. Zara's mind was willing to accept that, but her heart wasn't. Her heart still bled with the wounds put there by her master as her ears continued to ring with the memory of his voice. It wasn't as if her mind had made up those biting words. At one time or another, those single words had been yelled down at her in some drunken fit of rage, followed by the fierce sting of his claws or a bottle shattered across her back. Those memories hadn't been created by dreams or nightmares. At one time, they had been reality.

Running his fingers through the waves of Zara's thick hair, Jim's mind struggled in indecision. Something was bothering her. She looked like she needed to vent, but he wasn't sure whether to bring it up himself or wait for her to get up the courage. No, he should wait, maybe just a little while longer, then he'd see.

Zarabeth took in a deep breath, her mind still flashing with memories and images she wished would go away. She needed to focus on something else, something else that would occupy her mind so that it wouldn't run on its own.

Jim. Zara focused on the sound of his breathing, his warm touch as he played with her hair, even just the way he smelled. No matter how hard she'd tried to pinpoint what made up that wonderful smell, she never could. This boy watching over her, what would she do without him? Jim was everything to her. Without him, she'd have no reason to do anything, no life to look forward to. A life without Jim wasn't a life at all.

Zarabeth unconsciously shuddered as her mind once more flooded with images from her nightmares. "Ugh, what's wrong with me? This shouldn't affect me. You think I'd be used to it by now," the girl chastised herself as she tried without success to think of something else again.

"Ok, that's it." Resolved in what he had to do, Jim got the girl's attention as he gave her a knowing look. "You know whatever you're stewing over isn't gonna leave you alone until you talk. What's wrong?"

Zara tipped her head back to see the boy better, a hint of a smile on her lips as she repeated her own question in thankfulness and love. What would she do without him? Sometimes he knew what she needed even before she did.

Her head still turned to face Jim, Zarabeth shifted her gaze to concentrate on the ceiling, not trusting herself entirely to look at him as she lay in thoughtful silence for a little while. "I don't know if you'll understand, and if you don't, then I'm about to sound very...childish. I know it shouldn't affect me still, but it does." It was at this point that Zara hesitated, turning her eyes to lock with Jim's as she spoke what was on her mind. "After four years of being told what you were, it's hard to not believe it. It...still is, especially when he won't leave me alone, even though he's dead. He still finds me to remind me what he thinks."

Jim rearranged himself so that he was facing the girl more, his mind already beginning to understand where this was going. "What did he think you were?"

Zarabeth slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, pulling the covers tightly about her as she tried to control the waves of feverish chills which concentrated over her bare arms and back. The girl's voice was hushed, embarrassed almost, as she kept her attention on the fibers of the smooth fabric around her. "I wasn't a person. I was a thing. Worthless...Just an accident. Weak..." Zara's voice trailed off as she bit down on her lip, feeling more and more pathetic as she spoke, knowing full well that none of it was true, but it still hurt.

Jim shook his head slowly, his eyes also averted as he struggled with the feelings welling up inside of him. "He may have been with you for more of your life than I have, but he didn't know you very well. Actually, not at all." Raising his eyes, the boy gently took one of her hands in his as he continued quietly. "You have a heart that beats, a brilliant mind that thinks, a soul that cares, and more love to give than you could ever possibly spend. You're more of a person than he could have ever hoped to be. Worthless? He obviously never really looked at you, because it only takes one glance to see how precious you are. Weak? You're, without a doubt, the strongest person I know, sometimes even stronger than you have to be, but you endure."

Leaning closer to the girl, Jim reached over with his free hand as he gently held the side of her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Zara, I do understand. I do. It's hard to keep a clear thought when someone's always telling you otherwise. After a while, you start to wonder if they're right. Ya see, my dad...he..." Unsure of how to go on, Jim's hand retreated back as he began running his fingers distractedly through his hair, realizing that he'd started something he'd have to continue.