The Ballard of Cairo
Part thirty-seven: Into the Abyss.
Cairo looked from Cain to McCoy. "What do you mean?"
Cain stepped forward, "This is your subconscious mind's way of asking you which way you want go: to dedicate your life to hunting down Sebastian Cain and destroying your life in the process".
The figure of McCoy came round and stood next to Cain, "Or to hunt down Cain, but still have something left afterwards".
"You have reached a crossroads in your life: be consumed by the anger, or control it and make it work for you". Again the two figures spoke as one.
"I still don't understand. What difference will it make?" Cairo asked.
The image of McCoy smiled, "If you follow my path, you will still be able to hunt down Cain, but you will also be able to let people close to you. You pushed Sinead away...not because you don't love her or trust her, but because you are afraid of being hurt again".
Cain stepped between Cairo and McCoy, "But if you follow my path, you will have the edge you need to kill the real Cain. You need to let go of your conscience and use you anger. Forget about the others. They weren't there that night...they don't know how you feel".
McCoy pulled Cain back and spoke to Cairo. "But if you follow his path, you will not have anything left at the end. You will be just like Cain - a killing machine with no concept of right and wrong. Are you ready to become that?"
Cairo shook his head. "No, I'm not". He turned to Cain, "I may hunt you, but I'm not like you...I'm better than you". The two figures nodded and the world faded to darkness.
DropShip Wataru
Whittington
Lyran Alliance
Cairo blinked and looked up at the ceiling of the med-bay. He tried to move his arms, but found they where bound to the bed. He looked round and saw Sally O'Day walking over to him. "How are you feeling Sir?" she asked, flashing a light in his eyes.
"Better." He said, smiling.
O'Day nodded and walked over to the com-unit on the wall. "He's awake."
Less than a minute later, O'Brien walked through the hatch. Her eyes were red from crying. She sat down the chair next to his bed. "Hey Steve; how you feeling?"
Cairo took her hand in his, "I'm sorry for the way I've treated you Sinead. I was in a very dark place for a long time and I took it out on you. I thought I'd lost you on Constance. Then when Jackson found that message from Outreach, I just lost control."
O'Brien smiled at him, "I'm just glad I've got you back. I sent a message to Outreach: I quit the Dragoons. You're not going to get rid of me without a fight."
Cairo smiled, "So where the hell are we?"
O'Brien laughed, "Jackson decided we both needed time to recover, so he landed us on Whittington. We still have six jumps 'til we reach Solaris. The next JumpShip going that way is not due for a month, so we can spend some time together off-ship. That's if you want to?" There was fear in her eyes.
Cairo squeezed her hand, "I never want to lose you again. Now, can you talk Sally into letting me out of here?"
To Be Continued...