"Of Dreams and Memories"
Chapter 3
III
Liz looked at Michael then at Max. Max shook his head. Liz sighed.
"It was nothing, Michael. Just some silly dream Max told me about. Don't worry about it."
Michael seemed to relax. But as he looked at Max, he wondered silently… What does he know? Michael could never be sure. He hoped… he had always hoped… that some dreams he had had were only dreams and not latent repressed memories. It was never simple for Michael to know for sure. Unlike most any other person, Michael had a past. So did Max, Isabel, and, for that matter, Tess. They had whole lives that even now they did not completely remember. The alien scientists who mixed Rath, Zan, Vilandra, and Ava's DNA with human DNA and "created" the beings known as Michael, Max, Isabel, and Tess also programmed certain memories to be revived in them at various critical stages of their lives. It was all so… planned. But few things ever work exactly as planned the first time. Some things never do. Michael knew. For him, a simple dream might be a latent memory of their past lives… or… just another nightmare. There were things Michael never talked about.
Maria patted Michael on the arm. "Well, Dear, I guess we'd better get back over to Amy and Varec's and pick up the kids before they turn her into a frog or something," she said, joking.
Michael smiled. He always smiled. It was what was inside that hurt.
"Yeah, you're right," Michael agreed. "I remember the last time."
Maria giggled.
"What happened last time," Liz asked.
Amy was reading them stories from Songs of the South. You know, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox…"
"Yeah."
"Well, Jayyd changed Amy into Uncle Remus… or a female version of him."
Liz put her hand over her mouth and laughed.
"But Amy was cool with it. She always is. She just plays the part. She knows the kids'll change her back anyway."
"They really are good kids," Liz said.
Maria nodded. "I know. Jayyd has a kind heart. She wouldn't hurt a fly."
Liz closed her eyes, remembering the past… "Even back on earth when Zwolinski shot Jayyd… and Max couldn't revive her…" Liz's voice broke, and tears came into her eyes as she recalled then-5-year-old Jayyd's lifeless body cut almost in half by a merciless and brutal Agent Zwolinski and his supervisor's automatic weapons in the Smoky Mountains less than two years before…
Maria nodded. "Michael was going to kill him… all of them! He would've, too! But after Kryys saved Jayyd, Jayyd asked Michael to let her turn Zwolinski green with red eyes and hair and his boss, Sikorski, purple with pink polka dots so they would know what it was like to be different… She wouldn't let Michael kill them."
Liz wiped a lingering tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm afraid I wouldn't have been as charitable."
Maria smiled. "Well, it was the end of Zwolinski and Sikorski, anyway, effectively. Their own "alien hunters" carted them off protesting that they weren't aliens. I wonder what ever happened to them?"
"I don't care," Liz replied, "just as long as it was permanent."
"Amen to that," Maria agreed.
Max reached out and shook Michael's hand. "I'll see you later today, Michael. We need to go over some of the new treaties with several of the newly allied planets."
"Yeah, I'll see you at the command center," Michael said. Liz hugged Maria again, and the two of them left.
"Nice car," Max commented. "Looks new."
"It's a Fan-Ji 4," Liz said. "Maria and I went to Kyyk's Department Store yesterday together. It's nice… four engines. It has variable hovering altitudes… it can hover as low as 2 inches from the road or as high as ten feet."
"Ten feet! That's not hovering! That's flying," Max laughed. "I didn't realize the Fan-Ji 4 was out yet."
"You know, Max… in spite of any dreams… we both know that Michael is… Michael always has been… like a brother to you… even more than a brother. He's completely dedicated to you, to the kingdom, and to Antar… and for that matter, to all of his friends. He would never do anything to damage that trust."
"I know, Liz." Max nodded. "That's why some of these dreams are so perplexing. But you're right. I trust Michael with my life… with all our lives. He's never given me any reason to doubt him. And I don't."
Liz smiled. "That's good."
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Zan lay at Rath's feet… dead… stabbed in the back by a dagger that had pierced his heart. Nearby was Rath's beloved Vilandra… and near her Ava. Not far from Vilandra and Ava lay Zan's mother and father. All had been stabbed to death. There was blood everywhere. Rath looked at his hands. They were covered with blood. In his hand was a fourteen-inch Vorkian dagger… it, too, covered with blood. Rath opened his shaking hand, letting the bloody dagger fall to the ground. He looked up and an agonized, chilling, primordial scream filled the palace gardens and the dark, moonless night. Rath ran from the gardens, blindly racing over the darkened paths of the palace grounds. As he rounded a corner, several guards blocked him. One was holding a light. Rath struck out, killing three of the seven guards with his bare hands before he was restrained. Then he noticed the one leading them…
"You!"
"Yes, me!"
As the four remaining guards held Rath, the leader grabbed Rath's hair and lifted his face to look at it. Then he shook his head.
"Low primitive forehead. Moronic, idiotic, brainless look. It's Rath. Kill him."
Rath spun around, throwing the guards off. He struck out with a hidden reserve dagger in one hand, killing one of the guards, as he strangled another with the other hand. Before the leader could call for his backup, Rath had killed all four of the guards.
"It's just you and me now, Nyykto. You're dead."
Nyykto looked at Rath, and fear filled his eyes. He was no match for Rath, and he knew it.
"Like you killed Zan, Rath?
Like you killed your own king?"
"No!"
"Yes! You did! And Vilandra and Ava!"
"No!"
"You killed them all, Rath! You! Look at your hands. They're covered with the blood of the ones you were sworn to defend!"
Rath shook his head. He looked at his blood-soaked hands, and his lips drew back in agony. He started to scream again. It was all he could do now. Then he felt a blade enter his chest, piercing his heart. Rath looked at Nyykto. He had allowed himself to be distracted. It had only been for a moment, but that was all it took. It was too late now. Rath collapsed slowly to his knees. Then he fell face down on the path.
"Pathetic," Nyykto scowled, kicking Rath's almost lifeless body as he turned to look at his former guards… seven of them… all so easily slain by Rath.
"Pathetic," Nyykto said again, kicking two of the guards' bodies out of his way. "But Kivar should be happy."
Rath lay on the path, his lifeblood flowing out into the soil, as the night went black.
"Michael! Michael! Wake up! It's just a nightmare!"
Maria was shaking him. Michael opened his eyes. His face was covered with sweat.
"It's alright, Michael," Maria said soothingly. Maria was on her knees on the bed, holding Michael's head in her arms. She laid her head next to his. Michael felt Maria's hair on his face. Something about the feel of Maria's hair against his face was always soothing to him. He put one hand behind her head and felt the softness of her hair. Then he pulled her close…
"I killed them, Maria. I killed Zan and all the others."
Maria shook her head. "It was just a dream, Michael! A dream! Forget it."
"I killed them."
"You couldn't kill them, Michael."
"Rath did."
Maria shook her head. "No, Michael. I don't believe it. There has to be an explanation."
Michael shook his head. "Why am I having these dreams now? Why are they so real? They're not like dreams. They're more real."
"I don't know, Michael. Maybe we should discuss it with Max."
"No…
Maybe… I don't know."
Michael pulled Maria close again. He nestled his face next to hers, allowing her hair to fall over him. He felt somehow secure next to her… not just physically -physically, he was more than a match for any common enemy- but emotionally. Soon, he was asleep.
tbc